Open Access Journals at Aalborg University
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Towards Integrated Engineering Curricula: South African Case Studies in Context with UCL’s IEP Approach
Get PDFEngineering education in South Africa faces persistent challenges, including diverse student preparedness, limited resources, and high dropout rates. This paper presents a project that responds by supporting national curriculum transformation through integrated learning approaches that embed both technical and professional competencies. In collaboration with University College London (UCL) and 16 South African universities, the project explores how global models can inform local curriculum design without direct replication. This paper examines four institutional case studies using Harden’s (2000) integration ladder and Fogarty’s (1991) curriculum integration models to map intended and actual integration practices. The frameworks offered a structured tool for comparative reflection and opened up strategic conversations about future directions. However, several limitations were noted: the models do not fully accommodate the interdisciplinary nature of engineering, assume a linear progression not always observed in practice, and focus on individual teaching rather than program-level design. Despite these challenges, the mapping process helped leaders of the four case study institutions herein critically reflect on where they are, where they intend to go, and how integration frameworks could evolve to remain relevant in diverse and complex educational contexts. 
Developing Student Competency in Engineering Tools Using Open-Source Software in Undergraduate Engineering Education
Get PDFSince the introduction of ECSA’s revised Graduate Attributes in August 2023, engineering programmes have had to adapt teaching to meet new requirements. Graduate Attribute (GA) 5 emphasises competence in selecting, applying, and evaluating engineering and IT tools for complex problems, with a stronger focus on mathematical and computational foundations. Commercial CAD and CFD software, while effective, is costly and often inaccessible post-graduation, making open-source alternatives attractive. FreeCAD (for CAD) and OpenFOAM (for CFD) were integrated into a third-year heat and mass transfer module at a South African university to perform CFD analysis. These tools require students to engage directly with solver algorithms, numerical methods, and scripting, fostering deeper understanding of model development, computational efficiency, and tool limitations. Their accessibility also encourages collaborative, independent learning. The study assessed the potential of open-source tools to develop GA 5 competencies through a final assessment project. Students submitted self-reflective notes, which highlighted cost-effectiveness, improved proficiency, confidence in simulation tools, and enhanced problem-solving skills. One student noted, “This assignment gave me a real sense of applying theory to practical engineering scenarios.” Findings indicate that open- source CAD and CFD tools can match the technical skill development of licensed software while adding accessibility and collaboration benefits. 
Work-based Learning: Integrating Academia, Industry, and Community
Get PDFThis research paper presents a comprehensive analysis of a work-based learning model based on the principles of PBL and its positive synergistic effect on students, industries, and communities. The model is active in multiple communities in the United States. This paper will focus on the synergistic effect in a rural region of the upper Midwest. The model integrates academic instruction with hands-on industry experience, cultivating a collaborative environment that prepares future engineers to address complex challenges.
The paper explores how the model’s partnerships with local and regional industries provide students with immersive, real-world learning experiences that enhance technical competencies, boost employability, and foster a mindset of lifelong learning. The paper also explores how industry partnerships drive innovation and generate social and economic benefits for the region, contributing to its resilience and growth. By supplying a skilled workforce to local industries, the model plays a critical role in community development, addressing both immediate industry needs and long-term sustainability. Additionally, the paper underscores the importance of community engagement, demonstrating how an integrated approach between academia, industry, and local stakeholders can yield significant advancements in engineering education and societal progress.
The findings offer insights into the transformative potential of work-based learning models linking education, industry, and community engagement, advancing engineering education and broader societal development. 
Enhancing Engineering Education Through Reflective Practice in a Public University in Nigeria
Get PDFThis work-in-progress paper presents emerging empirical findings of an ongoing comparative research effort that hypothesizes that Reflective Practice (RP) enables engineering educators to better serve students in the Nigerian higher education context. It considers RP as a pedagogical intervention and presents the results of an evaluation of its impact on student learning at a public university in Nigeria. Seventy-six (76) undergraduate engineering students participated in the study. The research questions (RQ) guiding this study were: What is the impact of RP on students’ learning experiences (RQ1), and how do these experiences compare with the control courses that did not employ RP (RQ2)? Utilizing Kolb's reflective cycle as the theoretical framework, a causal-longitudinal approach was adopted to design two pre- and post-intervention surveys on Qualtrics, each comprising items that explored student engagement, perceptions of instructional design, and impacts on learning outcomes. The instructors’ reflections and pedagogical interventions were tracked using Penzu, an online diary. Preliminary findings, comparing RQ1 and RQ2 with the control and treatment courses, suggest that students had better learning experiences. This study argues that RP enhances educators’ teaching styles and positively influences students’ learning experiences and the result using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test showed a statistically significant difference in student experience (p < 0.05) but no significant difference in student engagement (p > 0.05), suggesting that the intervention had a positive impact on student experience but not on engagement. 
How sustainable renewable district heating supply and heat saving demand support the transformation of coal energy systems
Get PDFSmart district heating systems play a major role in the sustainable energy conversation and utilization processes within energy systems by providing a novel and highly efficient way of supplying buildings with heat. This paper aims to advance the practical understanding and transformation of current use of coal cogeneration units by assessing the benefits of integrating higher efficient energy supply technologies in district heating while simultaneously modelling heat demand reduction in buildings. A bottom-up model was developed for capital city of Kosovo “Prishtina” using the referent year 2018 as a base case as the heating demand and district heating potential maps were generated for this year in previous research. Several scenarios for both district heating supply and building heat demand framed by existing and future policies were investigated. Among other the expansion of district heating system, renewable wind integration via large-scale heat pumps with thermal storage, solar thermal heating production with seasonal heat storage, changes in individual heating solutions and heat demand savings in buildings have been modelled and discussed in this article. The EnergyPLAN model was used to assess the share of primary energy supply savings for individual & district heating, electricity produced via wind turbines, while considering the synergies of sector coupling in an energy system with lowering CO2 emissions. The findings show that developed strategies for decarbonized heating and electricity sector and heat savings in buildings significantly impact the reduction in primary energy supply, renewable electricity production in an energy system with increasing flexibility and CO2 emission reduction
Religious-Based Family Management and Sustainable Household Consumption: Evidence from Indonesia
No full textMany low-income households in Indonesia face persistent economic vulnerability not merely due to income deprivation, but also due to behavioral and social constraints rooted in religious and kinship structures. This study investigates how Religious-Based Family Management (RBFM) and Silaturahim Quality (SQ)—two socially embedded institutions—affect household consumption behavior and sustainable resilience. Using a social feasibility approach, the study draws on primary data from 225 households and applies Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to examine whether SQ mediates the influence of RBFM on the ability of households to maintain basic consumption while avoiding excessive resource depletion. Results demonstrate that RBFM significantly strengthens SQ, which in turn reduces economic precarity. These findings highlight the role of informal social systems as complementary mechanisms in achieving sustainable household energy transitions. Policy recommendations suggest empowering local value systems and integrating them into decentralized energy and consumption planning
Translating National Energy Vision into Local Scenarios
Get PDFThe energy transition toward a fully decarbonized society requires meaningful actions on a global scale, implemented at the local level. This requires translating a global perspective into local energy planning to implement actions that envisage the local energy system in a broader context. This article aims to translate a fully decarbonized national future scenario shaped by a global perspective to the local level of a Danish municipality. To create an accurate translation of a national scenario, analyzing local potential and constraints is crucial to understand how a specific municipality can become an integral part of a national scenario. To do this, the article outlines four methodological steps for translating and exploring an overarching national scenario in a local context. The article illustrates how a national energy system scenario can inform local energy planning as part of a coherent national energy transition. The article indicates that local energy planning in Denmark can also benefit from this translation to comprehend the national energy transition at the local level, by seeing the local energy planning as part of a more integrated future national decarbonized society
Punktligheden på Kystbanen, tiltag i årene 2016 – 2023 : Artikel
No full textKystbanen er DSB’s anden størst trafikeret strækning, men er plaget of passagerklager og lav punktlighed. Offentlige data fra 2016 til og med 2023, 96 måneder inklusive, undersøges ved henblik at forklare faktorerne som styrer punktligheden. Der findes mindste fem køreplansmønstre i perioden, og der beregnes til hver SSHR (”sum of shortest headway reciprocals”). Videre anvendes Poisson regression, hvor der opdages at dog SSHR er en væsentlig faktor, ikke alle køreplansmønstre leverer de forventet effekter
Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy Consumption and Economic Growth in Africa: Regional Insights for Sustainable Energy Planning
Get PDFEffective long-term planning becomes essential as Africa strives to expedite its shift to sustainable energy systems and comprehends how energy consumption and economic growth interact. This study examines the effects of total energy consumption, renewable energy consumption, and non-renewable energy consumption on economic growth in eight regional economic communities in Africa—AMU, CEN-SAD, COMESA, EAC, ECCAS, ECOWAS, IGAD, and SADC—between 1996 and 2022. Using panel data from the African regions, the Mean Group and Pooled Mean Group were utilised where applicable as indicated by the Hausman Test. The findings reveal that while both renewable and non-renewable energy consumption influence economic growth, their impacts vary across regions. Total energy consumption has a negative impact on economic growth in AMU, CEN-SAD, COMESA, ECCAS, and SADC blocs, but a positive impact on economic growth in ECOWAS and IGAD blocs, and an insignificant impact on the EAC bloc. While non-renewable energy consumption has a negative impact on economic growth in the AMU, COMESA, ECCAS, IGAD, and SADC blocs and a positive impact on economic growth in the EAC bloc, renewable energy consumption has a positive impact on economic growth in the AMU, COMESA, ECCAS, IGAD, and SADC blocs. These findings highlight the necessity of unique, region-specific energy planning approaches that give system resilience and investments in renewable energy top priority. Specifically, policymakers should expand energy access to underserved areas for the blocs experiencing positive impact of energy consumption, while those blocs experiencing negative impact should put in place policies to reduce energy waste and control energy prices to avoid volatility
Synergy map: Practical tool for holistic spatial planning under the Danish Green Tripartite
No full textAftalen om Den Grønne Trepart fra 2024 stiller store krav til kommunernes arealplanlægning, hvor hensyn til klima, natur, landbrug og drikkevand skal balanceres. For at understøtte dette har Danmarks Miljøportal udviklet Synergikort – et digitalt værktøj til multikriteriebaseret screening og prioritering af arealer.
Artiklen præsenterer, hvordan værktøjet kan anvendes i praksis af Limfjordsrådet og Ikast-Brande Kommune, og viser, hvordan det kan fremme helhedsorienteret planlægning, dialog og dokumentation. Med brugervenlige funktioner som vægtningssliders og foruddefinerede scenarier kan planlæggere hurtigt afprøve strategier og skabe et fælles grundlag for beslutninger.
Synergikort er lanceret som prototype i 2025 og forventes at spille en central rolle i implementeringen af Den Grønne Trepart og fremtidige miljø- og naturplaner.The agreement on the Danish Green Tripartite from 2024 places great demands on municipalities' spatial planning, where considerations for climate, nature, agriculture and drinking water must be balanced. To support this, Danmarks Miljøportal (the Danish portal for environment data) has developed Synergy Map – a digital tool for multi-criteria-based screening and prioritization of areas.
The article presents how the tool can be used in practice by the Limfjord Council and Ikast-Brande Municipality, and shows how it can promote holistic planning, dialogue and documentation. With user-friendly features such as weighting sliders and predefined scenarios, planners can quickly test strategies and create a common basis for decisions.
Synergy Map was launched as a prototype in 2025 and is expected to play a central role in the implementation of the Danish Green Tripartite and future environmental and nature plans