Funded by the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (merSETA), the Eco-vehicles Skills Programme seeks to use an innovative skills development approach that enables students to develop basic knowledge and skills related to sustainable energy. Students work together in groups to build an eco-vehicle, learning about sustainability and related concepts in the process. NBA collaborated with the University of the Free State (UFS) to develop two skills courses, which were offered via Blackboard, the UFS learning management system. NBA also conduced an evaluation of the efficacy and impact of the pilot programme.
The Creating Mediated Learning Experiences course was the first course that NBA designed as part of the UFS Eco-Vehicles Skills Programme. This course targeted senior engineering students who had been selected as mediators and would be responsible for mentoring a group of UFS students through the Eco-Vehicles skills programme.
The Eco-Vehicles Skills Programme was the second programme developed, which consisted of five learning cycles.
These activities culminated in a race day event where each of the ten teams of students had an opportunity to race their decorated solar-energy powered cars.