Problem-Based and Project-Oriented Learning. An Efficient Way to Implement Research Based Teaching in Power Electronic

Power electronics is an emerging technology. New applications are added every year as well as the power handling capabilities is steadily increasing. One example is renewable energy, which is efficiently enabled by power electronics. The demands to the education of engineers in this field are also increasing. Generally, the content of the curriculum should be more expanded without extra study time. This paper presents a teaching approach, which very fast makes it possible for the students to obtain in-depth skills into new research areas, and this method is the problem-oriented and project-based learning. The necessary skills for power electronic engineers are outlined that is followed up by a description on how the problem-oriented and project-based learning are implemented. A complete curriculum in power electronics and drives at Aalborg University is presented where different power electronics related projects at different study levels are finally presented.