Janja Dolenc & Boštjan Blažič
The Train the Trainers programme has been one of the most relevant activities of the SMAGRINET project. The workshop provided an insight into the teaching methods of the expert-level teaching staff from our consortium universities and provided the possibility for universities beyond the consortium to uptake prepared case-based modules and short-term programmes.
The University of Ljubljana was responsible for SMAGRINET's Train the Trainers programme. The workshop aimed at training local experts in order to perform the teaching of modules and programmes developed during our project. This allows for deployment, replication, and exploitation of the SMAGRINET results.
The workshop was organized as a 2-day event, and it featured presentations from all the six consortium universities:
- Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech)
- University of Lorraine (ULOR)
- Technical University of Berlin (TUB)
- Dresden University of Technology (TUD)
- Kaunas University of Technology (KTU)
- University of Ljubljana (ULJUB)
The main purpose of the workshop was to give an insight into the implementation of three Case-Based modules for Masters students and three short-term programmes comprised of the following modules:
- Module 1: Artificial Intelligence in a Smart Grid with Prosumers (KTU, TUD)
- Module 2: Economic Operation and Societal Challenges (ULOR, TalTech)
- Module 3: Connection Planning in Smart Grids (TUB, ULJUB)
Figure 1: Prof. Dr. Kai Strunz presenting at the Train the Trainers Workshop
At the end of the workshop, four online manuals were provided to support teachers in the uptake of the Master modules or programmes. These manuals provide a detailed explanation of the teaching methods that consortium universities recommend to the new teachers. Each manual first describes the module or programme it is aimed for, followed by learning methods, proven ways for motivating students, and finally, a set of literature that helps teachers improve their methods.
All the presentations of the modules and programmes and online manuals with the teaching methods from our partner universities are available on POWER ON - SMAGRINET'S Powerful Services website page. If you want to get all the presentations of a specific module, you must participate in our Train The Trainers workshop and get a certificate. You can express your interest and the materials can be shared with the universities willing to uptake the modules and short-term programmes.
Figure 2: Flyer with the Train-the-Trainers Workshop description
The Train the Trainers Workshop was a success, gathering 50 participants from partnering universities and 20 participants from organisations beyond our consortium over two days. Also, four organisations beyond our consortium showed interest in uptaking our modules and programmes, which was the goal of the workshop.
Smart grid implementation requires the training of the next generation of engineers, who need to be skilled to implement new technologies.
As the SMAGRINET project comes to an end, more partnering universities are considering further colaboration to ensure the replication and exploitation of the SMAGRINET’s results, so we can affirm with satisfaction that the Train the Trainers Workshop can be organised again in the future.