Creation of a composite indicator to assess students’ academic satisfaction at Engineering Schools

Universities have traditionally responded to two main functions: teaching and research. Universities provide training for high-level jobs and increase the body of theoretical knowledge as well as their possible applications through research. Competitiveness in the academic world has led to the upcoming of many different University tables that order Universities’ according to their academic performance using various combinations of different factors. However, such tables do not put emphasis on teaching quality and are mostly based in objective (though arguable) indicators of Universities’ research performance. In the opinion of the author current league tables can be misleading and confusing for students who use tables to choose a University for their Studies and even for Universities themselves who might be compelled to adopt policies to contempt leagues tables instead of focusing on long term policies aimed to improve both their research and their teaching quality. This document presents the process of creation of an alternative composite indicator which will serve to assess academic performance at Higher Education Institutions in Engineering-related fields. A composite indicator is formed when individual indicators are compiled into a single index, on the basis of an underlying model of the multi-dimensional concept that is being measured. Such multi-dimensional concept to be measured is in this case academic performance understood as the ability of a university to contenting the expectations, enhancing the capacities and providing the tools students consider to be relevant in their process of being transformed from high school students to competent and ready professionals to enter in the labor force as engineers. As a result of such considerations this composite indicator will be focused rather on University as a training and learning institution and not so much as an engine of knowledge creation. The composite indicator created will be put into practice to assess academic performance at four Engineering Schools (Escola Tècnica Superior d’Enginyeria Industrial de Barcelona (Spain), Facoltà d’Ingegneria di l’Università di Roma Tor Vergata (Italy), Facoltà d’Ingegneria di Roma La Sapienza (Italy) and Delft Technical University (Netherlands) to guarantee its applicability in practice

A GIS-based methodology for PV Solar Parks Site Selection and regional solar potential assessment: case study in the shire of La Segarra, Catalonia

Transitioning to a society with almost null fossil fuel usage based on an alternative energetic model not dependent on fossil fuels nor nuclear power and based on decentralized energy system 100% renewable based with own resources by 2050 is a quite ambitious objective for Catalonia specially taking into account that renewables barely represented a 5% of total primary energy and a weak 8,5% of final brute energy in Catalonia in 2017. Nuclear centrals decommissioning is forecasted for 2027 but fulfilling such objective would require an equivalent solar capacity addition of around 7-times as much solar PV capacity as there is in place today, every year, for the following 8 years. The Spanish transition to renewable energies is being based on concentrating generation in fewer but bigger installations. However, a centralized model based on big installations would not be successful is Catalonia where land availability is scarce and geographic characteristics make it difficult for megaprojects to be developed. Therefore, this project will be centered in defining and applying a GIS-based methodology to conduct regional solar PV potential assessments aimed at siting small-medium solar parks (1-20 MW) within the Catalan territory. The methodology will be tested in the Catalan region of La Segarra using a two-stage framework approach. On a first stage, areas restricted for solar parks’ development will be discarded according to pre-defined constraints to obtain a rough solar regional potential. On a second stage, several criteria as solar radiation, topography or accessibility considerations will be used to screen remaining lands and identify most optimal areas for solar parks’ development. Results obtained in the study case of La Segarra have shown that if all optimal potential would be used in the region would be used, total generation would be of 3.231 GWh (7,1% of Catalan electricity consumption) whereas in the rough potential scenario it would be of 19.400 GWh (42,6% of Catalan electricity consumption) requiring, however, the occupation of a quarter of the total regional surface (clearly not feasible). The greatest density of potential is to be found at the eastern areas of the region

Creation of a composite indicator to assess students’ academic satisfaction at Engineering Schools

Universities have traditionally responded to two main functions: teaching and research. Universities provide training for high-level jobs and increase the body of theoretical knowledge as well as their possible applications through research. Competitiveness in the academic world has led to the upcoming of many different University tables that order Universities’ according to their academic performance using various combinations of different factors. However, such tables do not put emphasis on teaching quality and are mostly based in objective (though arguable) indicators of Universities’ research performance. In the opinion of the author current league tables can be misleading and confusing for students who use tables to choose a University for their Studies and even for Universities themselves who might be compelled to adopt policies to contempt leagues tables instead of focusing on long term policies aimed to improve both their research and their teaching quality. This document presents the process of creation of an alternative composite indicator which will serve to assess academic performance at Higher Education Institutions in Engineering-related fields. A composite indicator is formed when individual indicators are compiled into a single index, on the basis of an underlying model of the multi-dimensional concept that is being measured. Such multi-dimensional concept to be measured is in this case academic performance understood as the ability of a university to contenting the expectations, enhancing the capacities and providing the tools students consider to be relevant in their process of being transformed from high school students to competent and ready professionals to enter in the labor force as engineers. As a result of such considerations this composite indicator will be focused rather on University as a training and learning institution and not so much as an engine of knowledge creation. The composite indicator created will be put into practice to assess academic performance at four Engineering Schools (Escola Tècnica Superior d’Enginyeria Industrial de Barcelona (Spain), Facoltà d’Ingegneria di l’Università di Roma Tor Vergata (Italy), Facoltà d’Ingegneria di Roma La Sapienza (Italy) and Delft Technical University (Netherlands) to guarantee its applicability in practice