Education in Renewable Energy – Past Successes and Future Avenues
Abstract
The Department of Engineering and Information Technology at Berne University of Applied Sciences (BUAS) has been a center of competence in renewable energy solutions since the 1980s. In the past, BUAS has developed and implemented renewable energy solutions in partnerships and networks with stakeholder groups and thus created opportunities for both the next generation and the regional economy. Early successes are (i) the invention of the “feed-in tariff” for PV-installations, which forms the nucleus of the market breakthrough of the PV-industry worldwide, or (ii) pioneering research teams such as the “Solar Racing Car” team in the 1990s and solar- and PV-inverter companies like “Sputnik Engineering AG”. More recent examples include the “Solar Impulse” research team on the development of a solar plane with Bertrand Piccard (www.solarimpulse.com) employing former student engineers educated at BUAS. Future educational and research avenues in renewable energy solutions will be concentrated in a new Institute for Energy and Mobility Research (IEM) at the Department of Engineering and Information Technology at BUAS. Engineering education will continue triggering an entrepreneurial and pioneering spirit and include sustainability engineering. This contribution presents some recent efforts on research and education in sustainable engineering and renewable energy solutions undertaken by the new IEM.