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Introducing New Engineering Students To Mechanical Concepts Through An “Energy Cube” Project, Micheal P. O'Flaherty, Shannon Chance, Fionnuala Farrell, Chris Montague

Shannon M. Chance

The objective of this paper is to describe a problem based learning module, called the “Energy Cube”, offered by Dublin Institute of Technology that is designed to teach mechanical, building services and manufacturing engineering concepts to first year engineering students. The Energy Cube project gives students hands-on experience in areas ranging from heat transfer, lighting and energy efficiency to industrial and product design. In the Energy Cube, students design and construct (using cardboard, clear plastic, and glue) a model of a building that admits as much daylight as possible while being energy efficient and aesthetically pleasing. The students, working in …