Cogent Engineering

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/oaen20

Problem based learning and design thinking

methodologies for teaching renewable energy
in engineering programs: Implementation in a
Colombian university context

Ramón Fernando Colmenares-Quintero, Diana Milena Caicedo-Concha,

Natalia Rojas, Kim E. Stansfield & Juan Carlos Colmenares-Quintero

To cite this article: Ramón Fernando Colmenares-Quintero, Diana Milena Caicedo-Concha,

Natalia Rojas, Kim E. Stansfield & Juan Carlos Colmenares-Quintero (2023) Problem based
learning and design thinking methodologies for teaching renewable energy in engineering
programs: Implementation in a Colombian university context, Cogent Engineering, 10:1,
2164442, DOI: 10.1080/23311916.2022.2164442

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311916.2022.2164442

© 2023 The Author(s). This open access Published online: 05 Jan 2023.
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Problem based learning and design thinking
methodologies for teaching renewable energy
in engineering programs: Implementation in
a Colombian university context
Ramón Fernando Colmenares-Quintero, Diana Milena Caicedo-Concha, Natalia Rojas, Kim E.
Stansfield and Juan Carlos Colmenares-Quintero

Cogent Engineering (2023), 10: 2164442

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Colmenares-Quintero et al., Cogent Engineering (2023), 10: 2164442
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311916.2022.2164442
Received: 02 October 2022
Accepted: 29 December 2022
*Corresponding author: Ramón
Fernando Colmenares-Quintero,
Engineering Faculty, Universidad
Cooperativa de Colombia, Calle 50A
#41-34, Medellín, Colombia, USA
E-mail: ramon.colmenaresq@campu­
succ.edu.co
Reviewing editor:
D T Pham, School of Mechanical
Engineering, University of
Birmingham, United Kingdom
Additional information is available at
the end of the article
Ramón Fernando Colmenares-
Quintero
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | RESEARCH ARTICLE
Problem based learning and design thinking
methodologies for teaching renewable energy in
engineering programs: Implementation in
a Colombian university context
Ramón Fernando Colmenares-Quintero1*, Diana Milena Caicedo-Concha2, Natalia Rojas3,
Kim E. Stansfield4 and Juan Carlos Colmenares-Quintero5
Abstract: The rapid depletion of fossil fuel reserves, population growth, and
increasing environmental pollution have forced a change in the search for alter­
natives to produce and use energy. Currently, renewable energies (RE) have
achieved more efficient advances to produce energy from non-conventional and
inexhaustible sources, which can meet the basic needs of society and whose
environmental impact is a door of opportunities for all. For this reason, academia
has a preponderant role in ensuring that engineers are fully equipped with the
necessary skills to provide feasible and contextualised solutions for this era of
energy transition framed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This
article explores the impact on the development of the necessary skills for engineers
in the renewable energy sector by tracing a route towards the acquisition of
renewable energy knowledge with strategically organised work teams of under­
graduate students, where two methodologies that are gaining ground in
ABOUT THE AUTHORS PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT
Ramón Fernando Colmenares-Quintero is cur­ This article explores the impact on the develop­
rently national head of research in engineering ment of the necessary skills for engineers in the
and Professor Dr. at UCC with research focus on renewable energy sector by tracing a route
smart energy generation, simulation and model­ towards the acquisition of renewable energy
ling in the energy sector and vulnerable commu­ knowledge with strategically organised under­
nities. graduate students’ teams, where two meth­
Diana Milena Caicedo-Concha is a lecturer in odologies, that are gaining ground in engineering
Industrial and Environmental Engineering and education programs, are applied: Problem Based
researcher at UCC. Her research interests are Learning (PBL) and Design thinking (DT). It is
related to sustainable energies, solid waste concluded that bringing engineering students
management and solid waste valorisation. closer to real contexts related to renewable
Natalia Rojas has a degree in Civil Engineering energies and above all with an objective of
and an MSc in Marine Renewables, works for impact on communities add value to the student
Aquatera bringing knowledge and expertise in learning process.
energy engineering.
Kim E. Stansfield got a PhD in Composites from
Kingston University. He was sustainable energy
systems transformation planner at the UK ETI.
Joined Warwick WMG in 2016.
Juan Carlos Colmenares-Quintero is the leader of
the research group CatSEE from the IPC/PAS in
Poland. His interests range from materials
science/nanotechnology to photocatalysis and
water/air purification.
© 2023 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons
Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.
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engineering education programs are applied: Problem Based Learning(PBL)and

Design thinking (DT).After the validation of these techniques, it is concluded that
bringing engineering students closer to real contexts related to renewable energies
and above all with an objective of impact on communities, it is the right way to build
knowledge in teams, in an immersive and committed way with the institution,
which has developed and implemented an innovative pedagogical method based on
the application of a critical educational model focused on the development of
competencies, where the union of new technologies with the teaching processes on
which this research is based is envisioned for the future.

Subjects: Engineering Education; General Engineering Education; Renewable Energy; Bio

Energy; Clean Technologies; Environmental; Renewable Energy

Keywords: problem-based learning; design thinking; engineering education; Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs)

1. Introduction
Education in Engineering faces enormous challenges arising from the fact that the world is
experiencing highly diverse and challenging environmental threats, where climate change is one
of those. Also, energy plays an important role in the economic growth of a country, since it is key to
the production of almost all goods and services (Mahalik et al., 2017). Rapid economic growth in
many countries has generated an increasing demand for energy (Hussaini & Majid, 2015).
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the annual growth of world energy demand
between 2010 and 2030 will average 1.7% per year. Countries in transition will demand more than
30% of this increase and it is estimated that by 2040, CO2 emissions could increase by 46% in
relation to 2010, in the business-as-usual scenario (Irena et al., 2019). The need to accelerate the
speed of the CO2 emissions reduction to achieve a maximum of 1.5°C increase in the global
average temperature was extensively discussed during the COP26, and one of the conclusions is
that it requires enormous efforts worldwide in at least four areas which include additional
advances in clean electrification (International Energy Agency, 2021). The preponderant role to
play of next generations of engineers in the UN 2030 agenda accomplishment, who are called for
understanding and developing technologies that will improve the communities living conditions, is
calling for speed up the changes needed in the way engineering faculties around the world are
educating their students (Romero et al., 2020).

Therefore, the need for a pertinent education in engineering that provides the future profes­
sional with the necessary skills for this energy transition is a must for the universities, this, as
mentioned by the author Casimiro Urcos et al. (2019), is due to a large gap between the knowledge
and skills of HEI graduates and the needs demanded by today’s society. In that context the
pedagogics and didactics necessary in the education of engineers must be aligned to develop in
the students the competences that are required. This is, engineering students need to learn how to
analyse and solve complicated and complex problems, be able to collaborate in a variety of teams
and clearly understand the societal needs they are solving. These challenges require triggering
a student centre and problem-based learning (PBL) approaches and to develop a more complex
engineering curriculum (UNESCO, 2021).

Based on a study made by Wu et al. (2019) proposes a differential strategy depending on the
complexity of the problem to be solved and considering the trust of social behaviour factor, to
reduce the complexity of the problem, and group decision-making problems on challenges. From
their analysis, the authors Kelley et al. and and Odell et al. (2019, 2019) concluded that the
teaching and learning methods needed to solve challenges is Problem Based Learning. Research
conducted on the application of PBL indicates that it reinforces motivation for learning, decreases

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dropout rates, increases the development of competencies, increases student participation, and
positively impacts the application of prior knowledge. The application of PBL requires teamwork,
which is a common challenge in many industries, although it is well known that the decision-
making process usually yields better results when carried out in a well-formed team.

In the same way, it is also studied Design Thinking (DT), which is a process based on the needs of
people and the way in which problems can be solved, this methodology aims to understand the
real needs and problems of people to generate ideas that can give an effective solution totally
oriented to what people want to solve. In this way, the most important point of DT is the creation
of empathy to understand the problems of the people to whom the problem needs to be solved
(Dotson et al., 2020; Linton & Klinton, 2019; O’Toole & Kelestyn, 2021). Additionally, this allows the
development of skills, knowledge and even the entrepreneurial and business spirit in the students
(Lynch et al., 2021).

On the other hand, the Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia began to work in a curricula reform in
the year 2015 and has implemented a competences curriculum based on the development in three
dimensions of the skills in each course. The dimensions are to know, to do and to be (Unigarro-
Gutierrez, 2017). In such a context all the courses in the engineering curriculum are designed to
contribute towards the development of a macro-competence which is defined for the whole program,
a competence named as a unity of competence and some elementary competences defined for each
course. In research such as the one by the author Llorente et al. (2019), it is pointed out that students
demand more flexible, active and participative teaching proposals, adapted to their needs, that
encourage collaborative learning and the development of different competencies and skills.

In such context, the present article is the product of a research that started with a systematic
review carried out using different databases during the 2010–2021 period on 3 methodologies for
teaching renewable energies in engineering, i.e., Problem/Program Based Learning (PBL) and
Design Thinking (DT). Then, it describes a case of study where PBL was implemented in a second-
year course for industrial engineering in the Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, specifically in
the Thermodynamics course. The article presents some results obtained in terms of the compe­
tence development, motivation, and early knowledge retention, and gives an inside how to fully
implement a PBL in teaching renewable energies for the education in engineering.

The research presented was done in the project named “Sustainable Development Goals chal­
lenges-based learning in engineering curricula at the Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia: enhan­
cing the engineering skills in a developing country”.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Literature review

It is important to define the methodologies used in the study and for this reason a review of the
literature shows that it is a crossed opinion from different authors is that a natural, efficient, and
innovative way of teaching, considering: the complexity, the inter and multidisciplinary approach
involved in renewable energy for engineering education, and a highly changing world, is the
application of problem-centred activities that motivates students to learn actively and to bring
the real professional world and requirements closer to the students, therefore closing the gap
between theory and practice. One of the methodologies is the PBL, which relies on CDIO (conceive,
design, implement and operate) that encourages students to: consider the whole system, rather
than the individual parts of the problem and to gain practical experiences. PBL also promotes the
development of soft skills, and the ability to transfer the acquired knowledge to other situations
and contexts. In addition, this methodology helps to raise awareness of the sustainability issues
facing the planet (Belu, 2019; Belu et al., 2017; Leite, 2017; Mayasari et al., 2019; Rumler et al.,
2016; Taheri, 2018; Verbič et al., 2017).

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As mentioned in the previous section, the PBL methodology requires teamwork, in this sense,
Srinivasa et al. (2022) indicates that teams have an intrinsic ability to solve complex problems, and
their cognitive skills include planning (problem analysis, goal setting and resource management),
implementing systemic solutions and monitoring progress. The authors Sun et al. (2020) tells us
that team members must therefore identify the structure and procedures of the problem, collect,
and evaluate the information needed to construct solutions, and engage in strategic problem
solving. Team formation dynamics has been the subject of various research. Gutiérrez et al. (2016)
in their research tells us that in the team formation problem, the assignment of multiple indivi­
duals matching a required set of skills as a group should be chosen to maximise one or more
positive social attributes. It is important to point out that according to the results of the author Gil-
Galván et al. (2020) in his Research on the students’ perception of the PBL methodology, they show
a generally positive attitude of the students towards the application of PBL. Giving them
a medium-high valuation of the acquired competences. It is also observed that the participatory
and personal competences are those that have been acquired to a lesser degree. Among the
conclusions, it is worth highlighting the effectiveness of PBL in the acquisition of competencies
compared to other traditional methodologies.

On the other hand, Fatahi and Lorestani (2010) exposes that many more practical models have
been presented which were introduced by Dr. M. Belbin. who proposes to classify individuals into
nine team roles. This model helps them to recognize their position in the team and to increase
their effectiveness. In this line, Moreno et al. (2012), tells us that group formation is one of the key
processes in collaborative learning, and proposes a method based on a genetic algorithm
approach for the achievement of inter-homogeneous and intra-heterogeneous groups. The main
feature of such a method is that it allows considering as many characteristics of the learners as
desired, translating the clustering problem into a multi-objective optimization problem. The sim­
plest methods are random and voluntary grouping, however, Liu et al. (2022) tells us how the
incorporation of new team members is considered a way towards team creativity.

In this sense, the Belbin Test constitutes a method focused on the examination of the roles
needed in a team and the individual strengths to facilitate the conformation of a successful and
well-balanced team. For that, Belbin Test considers the following roles of shaper, co-ordinator,
plant, resource investigator, monitor evaluator, implementer, team worker, completer finisher, and
specialist (Flores-Parra et al., 2018).

Regardless of the use of Design Thinking (DT) in the sector of renewable energies or sustain­
ability and engineering education. Sullivan (2019) mentions that providing students with opportu­
nities to learn to respond creatively to uncertainty will help them, building on their prior
knowledge, to prepare for the kinds of real-world challenges they face now and will face in the
future. Sullivan and Léger et al. (2020; Sullivan 2019) points out that the link between the
exploitation of prior knowledge and creativity allows the students to engage in a discussion around
the possible solutions having in mind the restrictions of the context where the design needs to be
applied, which makes it possible to generate collective intelligence. In turn, Milovanovic et al.
(2021) points that through design thinking, creativity and innovation, sustainable engineering
solutions can be developed, and that active learning increases the students interest in designing
solutions related to energy sustainability. It is recognised that design is a critical element for
engineering thinking, therefore it is essential to spend significant time gathering information of the
client voice, problem scoping, brainstorming to evaluate different alternatives as solutions
(Jackson et al., 2016).

In this order of ideas, it is possible to mention some similar methodologies applied to the
teaching of renewable energies in engineering programmes in various parts of the world. On the
one hand, there is the work done by Pastor et al. (2020) who use a methodology of virtual
laboratories to train students in renewable energy issues in some universities in Jordan, resulting

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in an increase in the effectiveness of learning, represented by the increase in the quality of

teaching of virtual courses.

On the other hand, the authors Belu et al. (2021) conducted a study where they implemented the
Project Based Learning methodology for teaching engineering courses related to energy and power.
They show that the experience motivated students to acquire new skills and technical knowledge to
face the industry and develop professional experience. It is also possible to highlight that in this
experiment there was evidence of the development of teamwork and individual work skills.

Next, there is also the work done by Ulazia and Ibarra-Berastegi (2020) in which they use
a Problem-Based Learning methodology for the study of renewable energy laboratories (specifi­
cally with Windpump), this was done in Eibar (Spain) and resulted in a much more motivated work
environment that allowed students to think in a cooperative way to solve problems in a more
efficient way.

It is worth noting that, according to the author Latorre-Cosculluela et al. (2020), in his paper on
Design Thinking at the University, the most outstanding advantage that students perceive the
Design Thinking approach is, with absolute clarity, the possibility of developing their creative and
imaginative skills. The majority of them note the benefits it provides them not only in stimulating
their creativity in the creation of the innovation project, but also in their ability to express
themselves and reflect multiple ideas and thoughts.

Finally, it also highlights the work done by Al-Qaralleh et al. (2021) who integrated the Design
Thinking methodology in an engineering curriculum at a university in Jordan, where students were
given a problem and from there, they went through all the stages to reach a solution. On the other
hand, based on DT, the students were asked to design a solar car and, according to the interview
with the students, more than 80% of them think that it is a good methodology to increase their
development skills and that implementing this methodology allows them to face problems from
different points of view. Although there are different models for applying DT, there is a shared
relationship between divergent and convergent thinking, in which it can be seen how both the logical
and the creative allow significant improvements in the learning process (De Paula et al., 2022).

2.2. Application of PBL for engineering teaching at UCC

Implementing the PBL methodology at the UCC consisted of a series of stages that will be
described below.

2.2.1. Course selection and competences

The methodology applied for the implementation and study of PBL began with the selection of the
course and competencies that met the following requirements: that sustainable development was
part of the macro-competency and/or elementary competency/competencies of the course and
that the teacher’s willingness was sufficient to be able to implement a PBL during the course.
Reviewing the courses that met these requirements, the course selection was made for the subject
of Thermodynamics, a second-year course for industrial engineering students. Table 1 presents the
competencies stated in this course.

2.2.2. Team role types and formation

With the purpose of promoting a balanced group formation, following the PBL approach (Virtue &
Hinnant-Crawford, 2019) and considering that this study was performed after the closure during
the COVID-19 pandemic and that the students had little or no exposure to work in teams with their
mates, the first thing done was the identification of roles that each student could play when team
working. Therefore, the first social activity was intended to break the ice. In this activity the Belbin
Role Test was explained to the students and applied towards a self-perception inventory. For that
a self-perception inventory was used which contained 7 sections related to: 1. Project general
work, 2. Seeking Satisfaction through work, 3. Complex solving problem, 4. Work task and time, 5.

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Table 1. Competences declared in the thermodynamics course at the Universidad cooperativa

de Colombia
Macrocompetence
Generate and innovate systems to
provide comprehensive and
sustainable solutions to needs of
the productive sector
Unity of competence
Establish strategies that provide
solutions to problems related to
the selection and use of materials
Elementary competences
Evaluate the correct use of physics,
chemistry and mathematics,
applying them for the correct use
of thermodynamic problems
Identify the application of the laws
of thermodynamics to closed and
open systems, ideal and/or real,
power cycles, thermal machines of
refrigeration and others
Mathematically model thermal
phenomena

Approach to get unfamiliar and unknown information, 6. Sudden change of team or tasks and 7.
Discussions contribution. This self-perception inventory was conducted based on what was men­
tioned by the author Flores-Parra et al. (2018) in his research on team formation, where he points
out that an indispensable requirement is the ability to work in a team, especially in engineering,
where the project member is expected to know how to collaborate with his/her peers. As a result of
this team Role Types and Formation stage, 3 groups were formed.
2.2.3. Application of problem based learning (PBL) in engineering teaching
During the course, already selected, and the formation of teams, students worked in teams of 4
members, in the development of a renewable energy solution in a community where an imple­
mentation of such solution is needed and to be validated by someone from the community who
could be interviewed, thus ensuring the correct development of the solution. This selection of
communities to implement solutions was done in the first 4 weeks of the study. The groups
selected the following type of communities with needs:

Group 1: A rural and touristic community willing to contribute with environmental solutions and
a reduction in the monthly electricity bill.

Group 2: A deprived and poor community located at the department of Cauca in a post-conflict
zone. The community has access to limited electric energy, a maximum of 6 hours daily. Their
economic activities are limited to these hours. The community is mainly conformed by Indigenous
descendants.

Group 3: A deprived and very poor community located at the Pacific Colombian Coast that does not
currently have access to drinkable water and electric energy. The community is mainly conformed
by African Americans.

After this, the following 12 weeks each of the groups worked in:

1. The clear identification of the problem: This was perhaps the most important step, as the rest
of the generated solution would depend on this step.

2. The development of a suitable technical solution using the concepts learned within the course
and extending their knowledge through different sources of information such as people of the
community, experts in the sector of renewable energies, etc.

3. An estimation of the costs for the proposed solution: As in all projects and solutions, the
construction of the budget is of great importance, this allows the students to have an approach to
the normal process of generating and studying a solution in economic terms.

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3. A discussion of alternatives of funding for such solutions

5. Preparing a final presentation of their findings: to show communities and other stakeholders the
solutions generated from the whole process.

4. Results and discussion

4.1. Application of PBL in engineering teaching

4.1.1. Results of the case study: Thermodynamics course

All the final projects were proposed rationally. Some of the photos taken in the last session are
presented in Figure 1.

Group 1 developed a hybrid system based on the climatic conditions of the community and wind speed
officially reported. The community was framed to one house. The interviews showed that one of the
families in the community has a strong interest in investing in a renewable energy system. Their
electricity monthly consumption was estimated as an average of the six latest electricity bills as
139kWh. The system proposed was composed by of six five monocrystalline solar panels generating
120 W, one 6 blades wind turbine with a 400 W power, and one power 200 W converter.

Group 2 developed a solar system for one family composed by 5 members in the described
community. Their approach was to calculate the electricity that was not supplied given the
interruptions of the supply and considering the appliances that the family has, since that com­
munity does not receive a monthly electricity bill. The estimated monthly consumption was 129.09
kWh. They also contrast this data with that produced in a commercial software that was tested
during 15 days of free access (i.e., 19.09 vs 130.2 kWh/month). They considered the solar radiation
of the area and proposed a photovoltaic solar system.

Group 3 developed a solution for the provision of drinkable water powered through a photovoltaic
system. Their field recognition evidenced that the community has a scarce drinkable water only

Figure 1. Presentation of final

projects in the
Thermodynamics course.

Model developed for providing drinkable Model developed for providing electricity
water (Group 3) by a hybrid system (Group 1)

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3 hours every 48 hours. Nevertheless, the rain varies throughout the year in the range of 65 to
166 mm. Their approach was based in designing a process composed of a filter, a sedimentation
tank, and a flock system for the community of 197 persons. After that they estimated the con­
sumption of the whole system as 72Wh/day.

Once the 3 groups had developed the solutions, a questionnaire was applied to each member of
each group with the purpose of testing how they felt during the application of PBL in their project
development. The questionnaire was designed to analyse the different steps considering the CDIO
methodology (Conceptualization, Design, Implementation), In addition, it was done on Office
forms and applied to the 12 students who participated in the methodology. The questions, the
answers and the results obtained in percentages are presented below:

The first question was related to the conceptualization stage: Thinking about the CONCEPT stage,
which aspects were considered by you during the stage of selecting the problem and community
addressed. The students could select more than one option.

Results are presented in Figure 2, which shows a total of 17 answers given the possibility of
multiple selection. The awareness about the importance of providing a solution to the problem was
considered as the main motivation in the conceptual stage in 70% of the answers provided.

The second question was related to the Design step, and in this case the question was: thinking
in the DESIGN stage what aspects you consider to be the most relevant. You can choose several of
the answers. The students could select more than one option.

In this case, a total of 20 answers were obtained, the responses show that the technical knowledge
either learned during the course (30%) or during the degree (35%) were considered substantial for the
designing step. The previous community approach also played a role since 20% of the answers (please
refer to Figure 3).

The third question deals with the implementation stage. In this sense, the question raised was:
thinking about the IMPLEMENTATION stage, what aspects would you consider taking the proposal

Figure 2. Answers to question

#1.

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Figure 3. Answers to question

#2.

Figure 4. Answers to question

#3.

developed during the THERMODYNAMICS course to an implementation stage? Again, the students
could select multiple options.

Results are presented in Figure 4. In this case a total of 19 answers were obtained, in which
institutional support was considered in 36.8% of the cases as the main source for the implementa­
tion stage, followed by closeness to the community (31.5%) and the information to relevant
calls (26.3%).

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Figure 5. Answers to question

#4.

The four question was formulated to see the perception of the PBL as valid methodology for the
learning process as a future engineer. In this case, the question raised was: Do you consider that
the PBL methodology applied to the development of the project was adequate for your training
process as a future Engineer? The student could select just one of the options.

In this question a total of 12 answers were obtained as shown in Figure 5. In this case 70% of
the students considered that PBL was adequate for the preparation as future engineers whereas
the rest 30% is not sure yet.

4.1.2. Discussion of the implementation in the UCC

The implementation at the UCC of the PBL and DT has been an answer to the innovative educa­
tional model where an active and centred learning approach is hoped to be applied in different
areas within the university (Unigarro-Gutierrez, 2017). In engineering, these techniques are start­
ing to be actively applied in a few courses such as physics and thermodynamics to mention some.
Also, the students enrolled in extracurricular teaching seminars and groups (e.g., BERSTIC under­
graduate students’ group) have been exposed to PBL and DT, and have reported substantial
improvements in learning and practice, a process that has been done through 1. immersive
workshop experiences where the students started listening to the voice of the customer (e.g.,
community, public company, etc) and proposed a feasible solution following an iterative process
where understanding the client’s opinion played a highly important role; 2. a competition sup­
ported by a company, where the students presented along the process, to a panel of experts,
different components of their project. For that, they received specific training in areas such as
market and needs potential, conceptual design, economic and social costs/return of the project,
etc; 3. workshops and lecturers with international experts in areas such as aquatic and biomass
renewable energies where the students were exposed to these emerging technologies and their
substantial role in the energy transition and climate change (publication not yet available).

The concrete overall results are very promising: 1. some of the ideas designed for the students
have received the recognition of companies and institutions, 2. Some of the students are now
developing their engineering studies at international institutions to further develop their ideas.
Results that evidence that the application of the PBL and DT are highly increasing both the

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competences and interest of the students towards the generation of applicable and feasible
engineering solutions in the subject of renewable energies.

These results clearly show the positive impact that the implementation of these methodologies
has had on the students, they have increased their interest in learning not only about their careers
but also about complementary careers, they consider the opinion of the communities to offer the
right solutions, they work efficiently in groups to find a solution to a problem, among other
findings.

5. Conclusions
The evidence presented above shows that approaches such as PBL and DT applied in the teaching
processes have allowed us to favour the commitment and active motivation of engineering
students in the face of various challenges that we as a society observe from the real world,
where not only renewable energies are the focus of interest for teaching but a whole culture
around science, technology, and innovation linked to this research, this is a very important step for
us in the mission of adapting methodologies with extensive background and from which the best
processes were executed to reach the proposed objectives in the face of a chaotic and unpredict­
able context such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the application of these methodologies in
the training of future engineers is essential and relevant, as they provide students with the
necessary skills to face the enormous multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary challenges arising
from the climate and environmental crisis facing the world.

The experience gained at UCC, using PBL and DT to reinforce the development of the necessary
competencies in future renewable energy engineers, endorses these advantages, since, given the
great demand for sustainable and efficient solutions by the energy, economic and social sectors,
these results allow transforming a new mental model to face the current and future needs of
those that UCC is committed to such change and be competent in the mentioned foci of this
research, as well as in new foci that will be part of this type of projects in the future.

The positive impact of the DT and PBL methodologies in addressing renewable energy issues and
finding a solution that is much more tailored to the requirements while also taking sustainability
into account has been observed. Renewable energies are in a certain way novel and are in
constant renovation and research, therefore it is important to be able to apply different techni­
ques, beyond the traditional ones, to be at the same level as renewable technologies, and to
respond to the requirements and problems related to them, in this way, these methodologies
tested in this Colombian context demonstrate a great acceptance and results reflected in com­
plete solutions to complex problems.

Throughout this process, engineering students actively participated in different activities where
PBL and DT were used, substantially developing their skills and interest in tune with the critical
educational model with a focus on the development of competencies that flourished at UCC, such
skills are encompassed in problem-solving, to be able to identify a need and trace a satisfactory
solution route.

Finally, it should be noted that the technical-theoretical flexibility of these methodologies has
a promising potential to teach materials related to sustainability in higher education institutions.

6. Recommendations
Recently we have witnessed the rise of a whole movement around virtual reality programs as an
immersive learning alternative (Allcoat et al., 2021), which together with teaching methodologies
such as PBL, Design Thinking, and gamification, it is possible to open a door to new spaces of co-
creation between teams interconnectedly, this is a concept that is still taking shape in society and
that will be the future of education, it is the metaverse, virtual worlds where you can work, study
and perform various team activities.

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Colmenares-Quintero et al., Cogent Engineering (2023), 10: 2164442
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311916.2022.2164442
As future work and recommendation, it is possible to apply the experience gained from this
research for the formulation of a new model to motivate and enhance the skills of students
through virtual and immersive training
On the other side, also as future work, it is hoped to analyse the statistical part of the answers
given by the students in the questionnaire, as part of an in-depth study of the techniques applied
and the data generated. It is also hoped to carry out a study of other teaching methodologies in
the context of the Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia.
Acknowledgement
This project is funded by Universidad Cooperativa de
Colombia. Grant number: INV3184 “Metodología basada
en gamificación para mejorar el proceso de enseñanza-
aprendizaje de los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible en
estudiantes de primaria, secundaria e ingenierías”
(Methodology based on gamification to improve the teach­
ing-learning process of the Sustainable Development Goals
in primary, secondary and engineering students).
Funding
This work was supported by the Universidad Cooperativa
de Colombia [INV3184].
Author details
Ramón Fernando Colmenares-Quintero1
E-mail: ramon.colmenaresq@campusucc.edu.co
ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1166-1982
Diana Milena Caicedo-Concha2
ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4031-4568
Natalia Rojas3
Kim E. Stansfield4
Juan Carlos Colmenares-Quintero5
ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3701-6340
1
Engineering Faculty, Universidad Cooperativa de
Colombia, Medellín, Colombia.
2
Engineering Faculty, Universidad Cooperativa de
Colombia, Cali, Colombia.
3
Project Management Team, Aquatera Ltd., Old Academy
Business Centre, Stromness, UK.
4 ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9459423
Managing Directorate, VoCATE Ltd., 2 Fountain Place,
Worcestershire, UK.
5 & Ramanujam, N. (2020). Design thinking-based
Catalysis for Sustainable Energy Production and
Environmental Protection (CatSEE), Institute of Physical
Chemistry, the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw,
Poland.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the
authors.
Citation information
Cite this article as: Problem based learning and design
thinking methodologies for teaching renewable energy in
engineering programs: Implementation in a Colombian
university context, Ramón Fernando Colmenares-
Quintero, Diana Milena Caicedo-Concha, Natalia Rojas,
Kim E. Stansfield & Juan Carlos Colmenares-Quintero,
Cogent Engineering (2023), 10: 2164442.
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