Solar Team, the Design and Construction of a Solar Car

An example of good practice in Curriculum from Ecocampus (Belgium)

The Solar Team is composed of 17 Engineering Technology students. Every two years, a new team is selected to build a new solar car. Each part of the car is designed and constructed by the students themselves in the course of only one year. To make everything go smoothly, each team member is given a specific function to specialise in. Naturally, this function also entails responsibility, as a result of which not only the technical aspect is important but so is working together in a team and making their own decisions. The team will then leave for Australia with the new car to compete against top universities from all over the world in the World Solar Challenge, the unofficial world championship for solar cars. Since the rules and experiences of the team are growing in number, new and innovative solutions have to be found for the presented challenges. It is with great pleasure that the Solar Team announces that it has won the CSIRO Innovation Award this year for its self-designed battery pack. This award is presented to the team introducing the most innovative technique to this demanding competition.