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Industry and accreditation bodies around the world require graduates to be able to demonstrate specific graduate attributes. Universities in this 21st century have responded to that call by embedding graduate attributes into their curricula. However, how can individual academics ensure that they are incorporating and assessing graduate attributes in their respective modules, which form part of the overall curriculum? This research question necessitates reflection as many academics are struggling to come to terms with what many of these graduate attributes really mean or entail. Moreover, a dearth of research publications exists on trying to define and explain these graduate attributes. The purpose of this article is to determine to what extent have the 10 graduate attributes, adopted by the Central University of Technology been embedded into the curriculum of the National Diploma in Electrical Engineering. A qualitative case study was used and data was collected using documentary review. All 36 study guides of the Electrical Engineering qualification were analysed. Results of this study show that 9 out of 10 graduate attributes are spread across the entire curriculum. The four most dominate graduate attributes were found to be Innovation and Problem Solving; Technical and Conceptual Competence; Numeracy, and Technological Literacy. Certain graduate attributes are clearly discerned in the learning outcomes while others are hidden in different teaching and learning activities. A key recommendation of this study is for academics to structure their learning outcomes in a way that addresses the incorporation and assessment of key graduate attributes required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy systems, such as photovoltaic (PV) systems, still require a great deal of research and development in order to improve efficiency, reduce overall manufacturing costs, and to become more sustainable in the future. Solar power production using PV modules has increased and is currently one of the fastest growing energy technologies worldwide, leading to speculation that it will be the main source of electrical power in future. This on-going research and implementation of PV modules and systems necessitates the effective training of technicians, technologists and engineers required to install, maintain or interface with these systems. The Department for Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering at the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) in South Africa has implemented a Higher Certificate in Renewable Energy Technologies (HCRET) in January 2014. The purpose of this article is to outline a practical innovative jig that was used to stimulate awareness and understanding of the fundamental operating principles of one specific sustainable technology, namely PV modules. Electronic measurements from this innovative jig are obtained by using an ARDUINO UNO board which interfaces with LabVIEW. Student perceptions of using this innovative jig are further presented, which indicate that the practical experiments were satisfying, challenging, relevant and applicable to PV module operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to present student perspectives of open book examinations, contrasting them to those for closed book examinations. Reasons and advantages of using open book examinations are offered and may be aligned with important accreditation criteria stipulated by official accreditation bodies, such as the Engineering Council of South Africa. The perspectives of senior electrical engineering students, enrolled in a telecommunications module, regarding open book examinations from two higher educational institutes in South Africa were obtained using a questionnaire survey. More than 80% of students from a residential contact university and less than 60% of students from an open distance learning institute passed their open book examination. The questionnaire survey highlighted that more than 50% of the polled students would prefer open book examinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress is any change that requires a person to adjust to a new situation and is registered in the brain as a threat that causes a stress response in the body. 'Student tardiness' is the term ascribed to students who suffer from tardiness, which is defined as the quality or condition of not being on time. Student tardiness is currently experienced in many higher educational institutions, contributing to poor academic achievements and subsequent low throughput rates. Tardiness is viewed as a construct, which is an abstract concept deliberately created to represent a collection of concrete forms of behaviour including stress or anxiety. The case study on which this article is based explored the relationship between stress or anxiety and tardiness of engineering students, establishing a direct correlation between stress or anxiety and the throughput rate of an engineering module called Design Project III. The empirical study incorporated an ex-post facto study involving a pre-experimental/exploratory design using descriptive statistics. The results of this research were applied to three separate tests which indicated a statistically significant relationship between stress or anxiety and the final throughput rate (75%) of the module Design Project III. Moreover. the presence of a negative correlation indicates that a decrease in the negative aspects of stress or anxiety will result in an increase in the final throughput rate of the module, subsequently influencing the academic success of engineering students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]