Course Content and Goals

Course Content and Goals

The primary goal of this course is to introduce you to the course subjects, renewable energy, smart buildings and electric mobility with a focus on enabling you to subsequently participate in more advanced courses instructed in English.

This course will not only deepen you knowledge of the subject material in English, but provide you with the skills to succeed in virtual or traditional learning environments in related subjects.

A subsequent goal of this course is to expand your awareness of the current state of the industry in Germany and internationally.

In addition, you will improve your abilities and interaction in facets of the English language including written, listening and reading comprehension. Revision and practice of major grammar points including vocabulary expansion tasks will help to improve your language skills in a given context. In certain cases, you will note that non-native speakers are interviewed or participate in audio or video discussions in which grammatical errors could occur. As these activities represent applied practise in Germany, the benefits of their experience clearly outweigh any of their grammatical errors.

The structure of the course is divided into an introductory week, the 3 core modules of renewable energies, smart buildings and e-mobility (4 units/weeks per module), plus an in-class final exam. The final in-class exam is the only unit of the course which is planned not to be virtual.

The introductory week will provide you with an overview of the course and your course requirements. In order to be successful on the course weekly participation is necessary. You are given two weeks to complete the tasks of every unit. The deadline for submission can be found on the homepage. 

The modules are so designed to introduce you to the subject material in a logical order and similar structure throughout the course. Material learned in a prior module should support and advance your learning in subsequent modules. As each module will be similarly structured, it will be easy to navigate through the modules.

Course Content:

INTRODUCTION

Unit 1: Introduction

MODULE 1: RENEWABLE ENERGY

UNIT 2: Solar Technologies

UNIT 3: Wind Technology

UNIT 4: Hydropower

UNIT 5: Renewable Energy for the Future

MODULE 2: SMART BUILDINGS

UNIT 6: Building Design

UNIT 7: Building Management Systems

UNIT 8: Passive Buildings

UNIT 9: Intelligent Workplaces and Dwellings

MODULE 3. ELECTRIC MOBILITY

UNIT 10: Hybrid Technology

UNIT 11: Electric-only Cars

UNIT 12: Other Renewable-mobility Technologies

UNIT 13: The Future of Transport

EXAM