Education
The University of California, Davis Program for International Energy Technologies in collaboration with the Energy Efficiency Center (EEC), Center for Entrepreneurship (C4E), and the Energy Institute (EI) with funding from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) has developed a two-part series of courses (D-Lab I and D-Lab II) to educate and engage UC Davis students in finding tangible solutions to energy issues in developing countries.
Founded in 2008, The UC Davis D-Lab works with international partners to find scalable, sustainable solutions for specific energy issues in their host communities. Faculty and graduate students from Engineering, International Agriculture Development, Community Development, Business, and Economics work together in teams in the lab and in the field. Using a bottom-up approach, D-Lab works with local communities to understand specific energy needs and assess the sustainability of proposed energy solutions through technical, social, environmental, and financial lenses.
In this process the community partner is the client and guides the D-Lab team in all phases including:
• Community Engagement (Community Mapping, Stakeholder’s Analysis)
• Feasibility Studies (Technology, Market, and Impact Assessment)
• Technology Development and Testing
• Local Capacity Building and Training
• Pilot Projects
D-Lab focuses on innovative technologies and business models that can allow people at the “bottom of the pyramid” to save or earn more money. D-Lab is building expertise in water pumping and irrigation, post harvest drying and storage, off-grid lighting and micro power, and small-scale renewable energy such as solar and biogas.
D-Lab: The Labs
D-Lab: The Curriculum
D-Lab I: Energy and Development: An Overview
Winter Quarter 2013
Days: T/R Time: 10:00 am to 11:50 am
Location: West Village 1720 Jade Street Room DAC 123
To Register: Course# 289A-006 / CRN# 71873 (units: 3)
An overview course focused on energy issues in developing economies that emphasizes critical thinking. Curriculum includes four hands-on energy labs , a business development clinic, case studies, and guest speakers. Multi-disciplinary teams, work with local partners to perform feasibility studies for proposed energy solutions.
No prerequisites or prior engineering experience required.
D-Lab II: Energy and Development: Designing for the market
Spring Quarter 2013
Days: Tues/Thur Time: 2:10 pm to 4:00 pm
Location: 70 Social Sciences
To Register: TTP #289A-007 / CRN #60909 (units:3)
A hands-on studio-style design course that focuses on low-cost energy solutions for the developing world. Student teams work with local partners and mentors, to design, prototype, and test scalable solutions for real world energy problems for their client communities.
Curriculum includes lab modules, business development skills, case studies, independent research, and guest speakers.
No prerequisites or prior engineering experience required.
A Path to Zero Net Energy: A Hands-On Approach
Spring Quarter 2013Days: Tues/Thur Time: 10:00 am to 11:50 am
Location: 244 Olson
To Register: TTP #289A-004 / CRN #60906 (units:3)
D-Lab Summer Practicum
Summer Quarter
Fieldwork and internships either on campus or abroad to support or extend work from D-Lab I or D-Lab II. These 2-8 week experiences are usually supported in part by D-Lab or other programs on campus such as the Blum Center in addition to a student contribution.
Other International Development & Energy Courses and Programs Available:
This new course is part of the newly established Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Davis. It will focus on world poverty, its causes and effects, and explore the global debate about how best to alleviate poverty. Students should leave this course with an better sense of the problems posed by global poverty, be able to participate more effectively in the ongoing debates about poverty alleviation as well as understand how they might personally engage in efforts to reduce poverty. Selected students will be encouraged to be involved with actual international fieldwork through the UC Davis D-Lab.
California-Denmark Renewable Energy Summer Course
Students and researchers from the UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, UC Merced, Technical University of Denmark and Aalborg University will meet in California for a 3-week renewable energy summer school program. Participants will learn about the economics, politics, science, and technology behind RE implementation from leading experts, while exploring communities and relevant energy sites where such technology is in place or currently being implemented. The program is intended for students of all disciplines, chosen on the basis of their academic qualifications, creativity, and commitment to RE. Each year, selected students from engineering, business, environmental studies, political science, geography, economics, and other fields are grouped together across disciplines and national ties to form project-based teams that throughout the program investigate.
For more information about PIET and D-Lab contact Program Director, Dr. Kurt Kornbluth, at kkorn@ucdavis.edu
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