LOCATION: Barranquilla, Colombia
PROJECT LEADS:
- Students & Professors from Universidad del Norte
- IEEE Colombian Caribbean Subsection
EPICS IN IEEE FUNDING: $7,000 USD
PROJECT OVERVIEW & UPDATES
COLOMBIA | As the energy crisis in Barranquilla, Colombia, continues to loom, there has been an increased interest in photovoltaic (PV) energy as the solution for electricity. That’s why members of IEEE Colombia Section are encouraging students to learn about the benefits of PV energy and inspiring them to enroll in Universidad del Norte’s electrical engineering undergraduate program.
An EPICS in IEEE grant of $7,000 allowed for a joint partnership with Universidad del Norte and the Rotary Club Barranquilla Center, a nonprofit organization, to bring electrical engineering education to the high school students of the Alexander Von Humboldt Institute. Recently, a new PV lab was installed at the university, and the groups were enthusiastic to provide the same technology to the students at the high school level. To help strengthen the project, Tecnoglass, the leading manufacturer in Colombia of architectural glass and windows, donated 15 solar panels, giving the students the opportunity to design a PV power plant and install it in one area of the high school.
The 10-month project started with a theoretical phase, where the students received in-depth lectures about climate change and global warming and began planning for the installation of the solar panels. The subsequent phases included design and construction.
By the end of the program, the students strengthened their knowledge about solar energy and the importance of renewable energies, became champions of PV technology, and acquired a deeper interest in electronics and electricity. What’s more, the students had the opportunity to present their research findings at the National Science Fair organized by the Colombian Association for the Advancement of Science (ACAC) in Bogotá.
PROJECT PARTNERS
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