E(co)nergy Green energy and sustainable energy consumption

In 2008, the Brussels-Capital Region created “Research in Brussels” to promote scientific and technological research in Brussels and to encourage scientific study amongst young people in order to renew the pool of researchers in the future. Within this framework, a call for projects: 'Later, I'll be... Einstein!' is launched every year to financially support science awareness initiatives for young people in Brussels. In 2012, financial support was obtained for the E[co]nergy project, that aims to sensitize secondary school pupils (between 16 and 18 years old) with respect to sustainable energy production and consumption. As an introduction, pupils fill out a questionnaire with regard to their own ecological footprint and energy consumption patterns. The topic of sustainable energy production is then instructed and analyzed in more detail during the educational game Ecoduel, in which strategic choices have to be made with regard to different types of energy supply. In the following discussion, students reflect about sustainable energy production and consumption. Besides the more technical aspects such as energy efficiency and secondary environmental impacts of ‘grey’ and ‘green’ energy production, political and ethical consequence of the choices made during the game are addressed. To conclude, a visit to a solar panel installation, a windmill and biomass installation is organized in collaboration with Ecopower, a cooperative investing in projects with regards to renewable energy. The project has also been implemented in the curriculum of bachelor students of the Environmental Health and Safety Management program. The students (second bachelor year) followed a workshop in which they were trained to accompany the educational game Ecoduel with pupils of the 3rd grade of secondary school and to facilitate the discussion afterwards, encouraging pupils to consider the complexities of ‘sustainable’ energy production and consumption. By doing so, the students also practice important program-specific and behavioral competences such as team work, explaining scientific topics in a clear, comprehensive and attractive way, and leading a discussion with regard to a specific scientific subject.

ISBN:978-2-87352-004-5

Jaar van publicatie:2013

Toegankelijkheid:Open