MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST),

MIRPUR AZAD JAMMU & KASHMIR

Department of Electrical Engineering
Course: Renewable Energy Systems
Instructor: Dr. Anwar Ul Haq

Complex Engineering Problem

Suppose you have just been hired as a community planner by the town/city administration
of your home town. Your job is to design a sustainable community that will be built on a
large section of the city for a massive urban renewal project. This new planned community
will have housing, places to eat and shops, small industry, a school, recreation center,
and park. This will be a complete neighborhood. Know that all of the infrastructure will
also be replaced; this means utilities (electricity, water, sewage) and roads.

— Planning a Sustainable Community

Your job is to develop a plan (this includes a written report, a PowerPoint presentation,
and a 5 min video. Be creative!) for this sustainable community addressing the energy
technologies you learned. For each technology you must:

1. State the energy technology.

2. Determine if the technology is appropriate to use in your town/city. Be sure to
provide evidence to explain your conclusion and reference data (such as maps of
solar and wind resources) to support your position.
3. Explain how the chosen technologies will be used to achieve a sustainable
community.
4. Describe the socioeconomic (e.g., costs/benefits, health effects, etc.) implications
of the technology.
5. Show how each technology will be linked to at least two of the other technologies.
6. When you show the linkages (in question 5) do so in a systems-thinking way. This
should include pointing out positive and negative feedback, and how changes to one
part of the community mediated by a technology will drive changes to other parts of
the community.

Assessment Rubric
Terminology

The following will clarify some of the terms used in this rubric and expectations:

Appropriate evidence: We expect you to provide appropriate or correct evidence that

supports your responses in this assignment. In question two (see above), for example,
you should provide facts and/or citations that would support your decision to incorporate
(or not) solar PV panels into their sustainable community plan.

Appropriate links between technologies: In question five (see above), we expect you to
provide appropriate or correct links between different technologies. You should examine
how the different technologies might complement or conflict with one another. For
example, you could consider how space used for ground-source heat exchange might be
occupied on the surface by another alternate energy strategy (e.g. PV panels).

Systems thinking: We expect you to demonstrate an understanding of a system (natural

or human-made), its parts, and how those parts interact through different feedback loops
(positive and/or negative).

Grading

● CEP grade is based on:

○ 40 % Presentation
○ 60 % Report
○ Video (Bonus Points)

Deliverables

● 5 minutes video presentation (Theme: renewable energy technologies)

○ Team members may record each other with a smartphone or use of a Webcam
○ For the video recording, topic content may be explained via a white- or
blackboard or via projecting slides. If a team has no projection capabilities,
projecting slides is not a requirement; we also encourage innovative and original
ways of conveying the topic, provided they resemble one of the listed means (i.e.,
the most important technical aspects of the topic are adequately illustrated and
covered in the video recording.)
○ Video should be edited
○ Video link must be uploaded (to YouTube/ DropBox/ Google drive).
● 20 - 25 slides (approx. 20 mins for the full presentation of a group of three)
○ Use either PowerPoint or pdf (prezi is also fine)
○ Entirely designed by students, no plagiarized content
○ Should a team decide to explore innovative ways to convey the technical aspects
of the topic, a format different than slides to document the illustration of the work
may be permissible, provided the material is professionally convey and can be
digitally captured and uploaded
○ Upload material in time according to the specified schedule
● Write a report about the topic
○ Will be provided
 ○ Report should include references, and be of professional quality, e.g., no typos,
few grammar mistakes, adequate use of diagrams, tables, and illustrations, no
plagiarized content)

Presentation Tips

● Start with a nice introduction, explain shortly: Which energy technologies are you
presenting? What is the purpose of the system? In which projects is the system used at the
moment

● Follow up with top level explanations. Show, that you have good overall knowledge.
Despite of that, prepare some slides (later in the presentation), where you dive into the
details. But don’t overload the audience with your expertise, 2-3 slides about detailed
aspects are enough.

Video Tips

Open-source and Free Tools

● Blender (https://www.blender.org)
● VSDC Free Video Editor (http://www.chip.de/downloads/VSDC-Free-Video-
Editor_67265703.html )
● AVS Video Editor (http://www.chip.de/downloads/AVS-Video-Editor_38380978.html )
● VLC Player as Screencast-Tool (http://www.chip.de/downloads/VLC-media-player-32-
Bit_13005928.html )
● CamStudio Screencasts (http://www.chip.de/downloads/CamStudio_19900258.html )
● Capture Fox Screencasts for Firefox (http://www.chip.de/downloads/Capture-
Fox_42736096.html )
 Assessment Rubric Table

CATEGORY 4 = Exemplary 3 = Accomplished 2 = Developing 1 = Beginning

1. Was at least one technology from More than 7 technologies 5 to 6 technologies 3 to 4 technologies 0 to 2 technologies
each module addressed? addressed addressed addressed addressed

The evidence provided is

The evidence provided is The evidence provided is
presented with depth and The evidence provided
2. Was appropriate evidence used to supported with unclear; facts, examples,
effectively supported with is not supported by the
support or discard each technology? appropriate facts and and details are lacking or
facts and detailed/ facts or examples given.
examples. fail to support decisions.
engaging examples.

The answer is in-depth and

3. Did the student show how the The answer is supported The answer is not Provides little evidence of
effectively supported with
technologies will be used to achieve by correct facts and supported by the facts how the technology helps
facts and detailed/
a sustainable community? examples. or examples given. sustain the community.
engaging examples.

The answer is in-depth and Provides little evidence of

4. Did the student describe the The answer is supported The answer is not
effectively supported with the socio-economic
socio-economic implications of by correct facts and supported by the facts
facts and detailed/ implications of the
their chosen technologies? examples. or examples given.
engaging examples. technology.

Links developed between Links developed

5. Were there appropriate links Links developed between The links between one
one technology and two between one technology
drawn between the technologies, one technology and three technology and another
other technologies and another technology
with each technology being linked or more other technologies technology are inaccurate
demonstrating are appropriate but lack
to at least two other technologies? demonstrating integration. and lack integration.
integration. integration.

6. Did the student display systems-

Feedbacks (both positive A feedback (positive or Demonstrated systems-
thinking when addressing how
and negative) are identified negative) was identified A feedback (positive or thinking in a basic way but
these technologies would work
and described using and described using negative) was identified. not the system feedbacks
together in the sustainable
engaging examples. appropriate examples. and lacks examples.
community?
[1] https://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/teaching_materials/energy_sustain/student_materials/capstone.html