Hybrid Event

Event program

Thursday, 5/26/2022 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Leut I, Hotel Admiral, Opatija 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Papers  1. M. Riks, C. Schaefer, P. Brockmann (Nuremberg Institute of Technology, Nuremberg, Germany) Challenges to Increasing Diversity in Engineering Education During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Specific Problems Encountered by Engineering Students From Underrepresented Groups  The upheaval caused the global Covid-19 pandemic has inspired rapid digitalization in engineering education. The goal of this study was to identify and evaluate problems encountered by engineering students during the pandemic. A special focus was placed on students from historically underrepresented groups: • women • first generation students • migration background • financially disadvantaged • students with children. An online survey of students at the Nuremberg Institute of Technology was conducted from June - July of 2021. Students were asked to self-identify according to gender, age, enrollment in a STEM subject and whether they felt they belonged to one or more of the historically underrepresented groups. Additional questions were posed regarding their experiences with distance learning, language difficulties, social, financial, psychological and child-care problems during the pandemic. Preliminary results identified common problems, such as a missing contact to other students and instructors. First generation and students with a migration background lacked information about financial aid and many had to extend their studies. Student parents neglected their studies due to closure of schools and child-care facilities. The issues identified in this study are part of the requirements elicitation phase for the development of IT tools, such as advising chatbots, peer review, gamification and machine learning in e-learning systems. The goal is to improve the design of IT tools targeted to specific groups of underrepresented engineering students, who will most likely benefit from each of these measures. 2. K. Koorts, U. Speidel, X. Ye, S. Manoharan (University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand) On Improving Academic Integrity Processes  One of the major issues that plagues academic institutions is the detection, handling, and prevention of violation of academic integrity. With advances in pattern and procedural matching techniques, detection has become a lot easier and simpler. Handling and prevention, however, are still time-consuming processes. This paper investigates how the handling and prevention of academic dishonesty can be ameliorated by applying process modelling techniques as well as process improvement. The paper describes the current processes, proposes some alternative approaches to how the processes could be improved. 3. M. Haralović, J. Petrović, P. Pale (Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, Zagreb, Croatia) Self-Assessment of Media Literacy Skills of Undergraduate Engineering Students  Media literacy is usually defined as the ability to be aware, access, evaluate, and produce media content. Additionally, it also includes the ability to critically consider not just the content, but the intentions and values of those who produce and distribute media. In today’s online world polluted by fake news and biased media, the importance of media literacy is indisputable. The aim of the research is to examine the media literacy of first-year undergraduate engineering students, as well as students’ perceptions and behavior related to some media literacy aspects. Survey results provide an insight into students’ perceptions of their media habits and suggest students believe they have a decent knowledge of media literacy-related concepts, as well as skills and confidence needed for handling information found online. 4. T. Hynninen, S. Jantunen (South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences, Mikkeli, Finland) Questionnaire Approach for Assessing Software Engineering and Quality Assurance Practices  The industry-academia gap is one of the persistent challenges of Software Engineering education. Software development is a rapidly moving industry, and academia is not quick enough to adapt to the changing software engineering profession. To this end, this paper introduces a project that seeks to bridge the Software Engineering -related industry-academia gap in the Finnish region of South Savo. The project intends to bring together regional software engineering companies with teachers, developers, and students in higher education. The objective of such a community is to provide a platform for discussion and the development of collaborative models to improve education and interaction. As the first step towards building the community, we are building a better understanding of the software development companies in the region. In this paper, we describe our method of inquiry and early experiences for understanding companies’ type of business, software engineering activities, and attitude towards collaboration. The preliminary results show that our method of inquiry was perceived as useful for both industry and academia. While we were able to gather useful information about the industry practices and feedback for higher education about the skills graduates should possess, industry representatives considered the data gathering as an opportunity for selfreflection. 3:00 PM - 3:15 PM Break  3:15 PM - 4:15 PM Papers  1. K. Murtazin, O. Shvets, M. Meeter, G. Piho (Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia) Characteristics of Learning Outcomes for Integrating Work-Based Learning into the Business Information Technology Study Program  Work-based learning is a general approach that allows students to gain practical knowledge and bridge the gap between university and industry (or company) needs. Work-based learning is often informal, but the formalized learning outcomes could help evaluate the relevance of industry (or company) projects to the university curricula and specify the objectives a student can achieve through the Work-based project. This work aims to analyze the learning outcomes and the characteristics of learning outcomes that can be achieved and assessed in the working environment. For a two-year Business Information Technology MSc program, we determined what learning outcomes could not be earned via workplace learning. In addition, the aim was to analyze whether non-achieved learning outcomes were something that the company could provide in different circumstances, or whether they cannot possibly be achieved in workplace learning, or whether the learning outcome has been wrongly formulated. 2. Q. Jin, K. Rose, M. Kim, J. McFeetors (University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada) Promoting Pedagogical Change in Engineering Faculty: A Pilot Study of a Modular Program Supporting Student-Centered Learning  Scholarship in undergraduate engineering education has shown support (including gains in content acquisition, student satisfaction, and promotion of desirable graduate attributes) for a shift from lecture-based pedagogies towards more student-centered approaches. As part of a unique cross-faculty initiative to promote this type of pedagogical change, an established science, mathematics and technology education centre associated with a Faculty of Education, in cooperation with a Faculty of Engineering from the same Canadian university, have developed a modular learning program. Each of the 12 modules in the program include self-paced readings, activities, videos, and reflections; an opportunity to apply the learning to courses in progress (workplace learning); and a group discussion of the learning experiences (Community of Practice or CoP). Using a qualitative case study approach to assess the feasibility and appropriateness of the module content and delivery, two modules were piloted with six engineering faculty members (both experienced and new to teaching). Thematic analysis of the CoP meetings, a focus group, and individual interviews with participants were conducted and analyzed. Results indicated that engineering educators value practical suggestions and examples, especially valued the CoP, but were concerned about constraints due to class sizes and time needed for making pedagogical change. 3. P. van Duijsen, D. Zuidervliet (THUAS , Delft, Netherlands) Structuring a Switched Mode Power Supply Course, Part I: Lectures  A power electronics course on switched mode power supplies is impossible without a hands-on experience. Training in industry is almost always done using a hands-on approach, where the students learn by doing. Traditional Bachelor and Master courses on switched mode power supplies are mainly divided between oral lectures and a laboratory experiments. The theory is explained in the oral lectures and student are building or doing measurements on a typical converter during the laboratory assignments. In this paper (Part I) an overview of topics is given that has to be included in a course. In the accompanying paper (Part II) it is described how the laboratory assignments should match the theory of the oral lectures. To improve the oral lectures, use is made of simulation and animation to show the workings of the converters, as well as design tools to assist the student in quickly designing the main parameters of a converter. Each topic is introduced by explaining the theoretical background, and ideal simulation and animation is used to explain the basics of operation. The design tools are used by the students to have a good overview of the influence of parameters on the converter behavior. Finally, a detailed simulation demonstrates the non-linear component parameters, and the impact a control can have, as well as the origin of EMI problems and losses. The Lecture outline, methods, topics as well as the lecture objectives(Understand, Analyze and Calculate) are discussed in detail. 4. P. van Duijsen, D. Zuidervliet (THUAS , Delft, Netherlands) Structuring a Switched Mode Power Supply Course, Part II: Laboratory  The practical experience gained in a power electronics course on switched mode power electronics is crucial in understanding why the design of these converters requires special attention. Not only the correct connection and parameters of components in the schematic on a printed circuit board is important, but also the layout and physical sizes are important. Traditional laboratory assignments usually incorporate measurements on pre-build converters or focus on the design of a typical component or control structure. The theoretical background required for this is mostly considered to be known from the oral lectures. In this paper (Part II) it is explained how the laboratory assignments should follow up the theory from the oral lectures. In the accompanying paper (Part I) it is described what the structure of the topics should be in order to closely match the oral lectures with the laboratory assignments. The discussed laboratory assignments range from a simple breadboard introduction, via dedicated universal training boards to cover various topologies, to optimized printed circuit boards with minimized losses and EMI. The outline and topics of the laboratory assignments follows those from the oral lectures. The methods range from simple breadboard up to industrial standard design. The laboratory assignment objectives(Design, Build and Measure) are shown in detail. 4:15 PM - 4:30 PM Break  4:30 PM - 5:30 PM Papers  1. N. Tihomirova (University of Ruse, Ruse, Bulgaria) Entrepreneurship Education and the Need for a School Environment That Promotes Creativity and Risk-Taking  Entrepreneurship education is among the investments that can have the highest returns for any country in the world. Research has shown that students who have undergone entrepreneurship are three to six times more likely to take part in a later life experience than those who have not received such training. The Bulgarian state must provide all young people with practical entrepreneurial experience before completing compulsory education, stressing the importance of practical exercises in education and training. The Program "Student Company" of Junior Achievement Young Enterprise (JAYE) Europe is one of the most popular among students at Baba Tonka High School of Mathematics, Ruse. In it, students set up a mini corporation under the leadership of a teacher and a voluntary business consultant. This article examines the role of teachers who have a strong impact on the achievements of students, critically minded teachers who tailor their practice to the individual needs of students; shares our experience who offered students training under the program "Student Company"; introduces you to the methodology developed by Junior Achievement Bulgaria within the international project GREENT for teaching environmentally friendly entrepreneurship in high school through a blended learning methodology. To inspire their students and help them develop entrepreneurship, teachers must possess a wide range of creative and entrepreneurial skills; they need a school environment that promotes creativity and risk-taking, and mistakes are seen as an opportunity to learn. Cooperation between schools, state institutions and business are key to success. 2. B. Pejcinovic (Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, United States) Use of Social Reading in Engineering Education  There are many things that we expect undergraduate students in STEM areas to have mastered while in high school. One such area is the effective reading of course and related materials. However, the act of reading itself has dramatically changed over the last 20 years or so. Majority of reading now happens through electronic means, instead of using printed copies. Up until recently, student reading assignments have been almost entirely invisible to instructors but social reading tools like Persuall now provide much greater visibility into this activity. This means that many new questions can be asked, including how much emphasis to place on reading vs. other activities, given that students’ time is limited. In this paper, we analyze student reading habits, including the time spent actively reading, when they do the reading and the quality of the reading. Suggestions for the construction of reading assignments are given and areas for future study are identified. 3. T. Tepsa (Lapland UAS, Rovaniemi, Finland), M. Haavikko (Rovaniemi Education, Rovaniemi, Finland), O. Li, V. Ruismäki, S. Kangas (Lapland UAS, Rovaniemi, Finland), J. Kattelus (NIBE Energysystems Oy, Vantaa, Finland), H. Väätäjä (Lapland UAS, Rovaniemi, Finland) A Digital Twin of a Heat Pump with a Game Engine for Educational Use  We introduce a digital twin of an air-to-water heat pump to be used in the education of secondary and higher level students as well as personnel and customers of companies selling and servicing or maintaining heat pumps. The digital twin presented in the publication introduces the learner to the functionality of a heat pump in a virtual reality (VR) environment. The learning is based on the progress of completing the sub-tasks in the required order. The tasks required have been designed and written in collaboration with experts familiar with the operation of the equipment. The content of the tasks is related to the maintenance performed on the equipment under exploration. As there are safety issues related to operating the physical device, the virtual digital twin is a viable option compared to, for example, a learning exercise in a laboratory. In addition, the digital twin provides the possibility to repeat the exercise multiple times and does not necessarily require any physical real-world counterpart or lab. 4. C. Madritsch (FH Kärnten, Villach, Austria) Embedded Systems Engineering Education Using Cost Effective Pocket Labs Platform  This paper describes the cost-effective use of Pocket Labs in Embedded Systems Engineering education. First, the rationale behind this approach is explained by comparing it to the traditional method of using laboratory equipment. Next, the goals and contents of existing Embedded Systems Lectures are explained. The focus is put on the lectures Microcontroller Programming (Bachelor Level) as well as Digital Signal Processing Applications (Master Level). The following section explains two Lab Exercises and derives requirements for the equipment used from them. The section on Pocket Labs Platform illustrates our current solution and its main properties. The last chapter compares the traditional with our Pocket Labs infrastructure and gives conclusions and an outlook. 5:30 PM - 5:45 PM Break  5:45 PM - 7:00 PM Papers  1. A. Periola, A. Alonge, K. Ogudo (University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa) Internet Driven Dynamic Question Analysis and Response for Engineering  The increasing complexity alongside the multi–disciplinarily of engineering education requires the provision of tools to enable students learn better. An important aspect of learning is stimulating and encouraging students to ask questions. It is also required that teachers and lecturers be able to provide answers to these questions. This goal can be realised by designing tools that enables the teacher have an improved understanding of the motivation for a student’s questions and desired learning outcomes. The presented research proposes an internet based solution. The solution enables student– content interaction. The proposed solution enables the use of history and past records associated with student–content interaction (SCI). The solution designs student–based crawlers for future engineering education and realizing SCI goals. The proposed SCI executes two functions. The first function is enabling the teacher to have access to a student’s learning related search history. The second function focuses on developing a context for identifying online content that can address the student’s questions. The proposed research presents the architecture of a crawler enabling the execution of these functions. In addition, the presented research describes the integration of the proposed crawler with the internet. Research shows that SCI increases the number of teacher–student interaction channels by more than 50% on average. 2. R. Villena-Ruiz, A. Honrubia-Escribano, E. Gómez-Lázaro (University of Castilla-La Mancha / Renewable Energy Research Institute, Albacete, Spain) Learning Load Flow Analysis in Electric Power Systems: A Case Study in PowerFactory  The integration of distributed generation into networks, together with the high variable renewable energy penetration levels, is making current power systems to experience a complex transformation. Under this framework, load flow analyses are required not only to know the operating point of an electrical grid at any given time, but also to plan network operations effectively, conduct contingency analyses and design future expansions. Moreover, load flows constitute the necessary preliminary step to the execution of dynamic simulation analyses. On the other hand, among the software tools used for the conduction of load flow analysis, DIgSILENT PowerFactory (PF) is used in the present paper, since it is one of the most powerful power system analysis packages in the field of electrical engineering. Moreover, it is a tool widely used by network operators and other stakeholders in the electricity sector. Therefore, given the importance of conducting load flow analysis, the present work implements a base case network using PF and define several scenarios -such as the integration of different renewable power plants- to cover different common situations, analyzing, for each of them, the operating point of the network. Our contribution is thus intended to provide a response to the lack of specialized professionals who are familiar with this type of commercial tool, and it does so by complementing the educational competences of future electrical engineers. Indeed, the approach proposed has been successfully implemented in courses of both an Electrical Engineering Degree and a Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering, and positive feedback was obtained from students. Finally, it should also be noted that the method proposed can be easily replicated at other academic institutions. 3. H. Beloev (University of Ruse "Angel Kanchev", Ruse, Bulgaria), N. Đuc Long, D. The Nhu (Vietnam Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Post-Harvest Technology , Ha Noi City, Viet Nam) Improving Students' Knowledge in Agromechatronics and Engineering by Involvement in the Development of a New Solution for Kinematics of Continuous-operating Hole Digging Machine with Active Soil Tillage Unit  The paper aims to present the introduction of new engineering solutions in the educational process in agromechatronics. The results achieved by an international team of researchers in the field of the kinematics of continuousoperating hole digging machines with active soil tillage units are considered valuable for the further improvement of the education process through the direct involvement in research activities of Ph.D. students and critical thinking strengthening by discussions on the development of the proposed theoretical model during the seminars. The experience gained leads to improving the educational content of the curricula of the specialties in agro-mechatronics with further implications in related sustainable, organic, or biofarming educational practices and the appropriate engineering technologies. The simulation results have already been introduced as discussion cases in the learning approach in agro-mechatronics and the education in “Agriculture technologies and technics” and “Ecology and environmental protection” at Ruse University (Bulgaria). The structure of the paper encompasses both a literature overview of the existing applicable decisions for optimizing the operation and productivity of hole digging machines with active soil tillage units and the calculations and simulations results from experimental work as well as their adaption to the educational process. 4. A. Borodzhieva (University of Ruse "Angel Kanchev", Ruse, Bulgaria) Using Project-Based Learning in the Course “Databases” on the Topic “Relational Algebra”   The paper presents the results of the application of the project-based learning approach during the last academic year (2020-2021), in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the course “Databases”, when teaching and studying the topic “Relational Algebra”. During the project-based learning, students-bachelors from the specialty “Internet and Mobile Communications” at the University of Ruse “Angel Kanchev” had to use various computer-based tools, such as MS Excel, MATLAB, LearningApps, etc., to present the basic operations in relational algebra. An analysis of students’ opinions about the approach used for their training in the course “Databases” is given in the paper. 5. O. Jukić (Consultem d.o.o., Slatina, Croatia), I. Heđi (Veleučilište u Virovitici, Virovitica, Croatia) Održivi „ekosustav“ razvoja ICT industrije u Virovitičko-podravskoj županiji  Na ljestvici županija prema prihodima iz ICT industrije u 2020., godini, Virovitičko-podravska županija pozicionirana je na samom dnu, iznad Ličko-senjske. Tik iznad nje nalaze se Požeško-slavonska i Vukovarsko srijemska županija, čiji ICT prihod je gotovo dva odnosno tri puta veći. Iako ovakvi podaci zabrinjavaju, oni ostavljaju prostor za napredak koji bi žiteljima trebao omogućiti kvalitetan život uz siguran posao u iznimno propulzivnom području koji nije vezan za lokaciju prebivališta. Početke ICT-zacije županije označili su osnivanje nekolicine kvalitetnih tvrtki koje su zauzele svoje mjesto na ICT tržištu te početak izvođenja studija Računarstva na Veleučilištu u Virovitici 2016. godine, kojem je kasnije dodan i studij Telekomunikacija. Kako bi se osjetio snažniji utjecaj navedenoga, nužno je formirati održivi „ekosustav“ koji će u županiji s malim brojem stanovnika, koji je uz to u opadanju, osigurati dovoljan broj ICT stručnjaka za rad u tvrtkama, ali i nastavnika te studenata. U radu je prezentiran takav ekosustav, koji u sebi uključuje ICT stručnjake, nastavnike veleučilišta i institucija za cjeloživotno obrazovanje, studente, učenike i polaznike programa cjeloživotnog obrazovanja. Ekosustav definira njihove željene međusobne odnose te predlaže modus operandi među institucijama kojim bi se sustav učinio dugoročno održivim što bi trebalo rezultirati rastom ICT sektora u ovoj lijepoj županiji.

Predrag Pale (Croatia), Branimir Pejčinović (United States), Juraj Petrović (Croatia)

Leslie Martinich (United States), Predrag Pale (Croatia)

Tomislav Jagušt (Croatia), Branimir Pejčinović (United States), Juraj Petrović (Croatia), Ana Sović Kržić (Croatia)

The discount doesn't apply to PhD students.

Predrag Pale
University of Zagreb
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing
Unska 3
HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia

E-mail: mipro@zesoi.fer.hr

Accepted papers will be published in the ISSN registered conference proceedings. Presented papers in English will be submitted for inclusion in the IEEE Xplore Digital Library.
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There is a possibility that the selected scientific papers with some further modification and refinement are being published in the following journals: Journal of Computing and Information Technology (CIT), MDPI Applied Science, MDPI Information Journal, Frontiers and EAI Endorsed Transaction on Scalable Information Systems.