The inclusion of Sustainability in the Electrical Engineering degree: an integrative initiative of the University of The Basque Country (Campus Bizia Lab)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe an activity to include Sustainable Development Goals within the Electrical Engineering degree in transdisciplinary Capstone Projects. The intervention, nevertheless is not a singular actuation, it is in line with the 2030 agenda of the university by means of a program called Campus Bizia Lab. This program aims to trigger a collaborative process among teachers, services staff, and students to respond to sustainability challenges adopted at the university. Within the program, a working team was made up, composed by three teachers of two departments (business organization and electrical engineering), a campus’ technical architect and two students. The collaboration between people from different professional profile makes the students’ projects more closely linked to reality. Moreover, projects are developed beyond the technical perspective. Two projects were conducted, both with the main objective of reducing the electrical power consumption in the biggest Campus of the University (Leioa campus). The capstone projects developed during this academic course were two: the design of a smart electrical micro grid and the redesign of the campus’ outdoor lighting with energy efficiency criteria. All in all this paper describes the characteristics of the intervention (objectives, work team and projects carried out), as well as the obtained outcomes.