Program Overview

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Program Overview

The Sustainable Farm Design in Developing Countries program is a MOOC that provides new and simplified design tools for sustainable farms in developing countries. The course focuses on the design of road infrastructures, stand-alone solar power plants, and solar-powered cold storage units.

Course Description

The course starts with a general introduction to the multidisciplinary context and the main infrastructure required in isolated locations. The main approaches and tools for preliminary design of road infrastructures, stand-alone solar power plants, and solar-powered cold storage units are explored and examined. At the end of each week, a quiz and an exercise based on a real case study are proposed as tests to assess the learning of the discussed design techniques.

Total Workload

The total workload of the course is 25 hours.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By actively participating in this MOOC, students will achieve different intended learning outcomes, including:

• Using simplified and open-access tools for preliminary design of infrastructure essential for the development of a sustainable farm in developing countries.
• Designing systems and products involving engineering, manufacturing, and construction.

Course Structure

The course is divided into four weeks:

Week 0 - Introduction to the Course

• Describe the main targets to design a sustainable farm in developing countries.
• Identify key factors and working hypotheses necessary for the definition of design inputs.

Week 1 - Design of Road Infrastructure

• Describe the main parameters for conceptual and preliminary design of a bridge crossing a small river.
• Understand the importance of the choice of static scheme in the design of a small river crossing.
• Explain the main advantages and limits of using different building materials.
• Select a material for the primary structures and for the deck.
• Get a preliminary design of the necessary cross-sections for the beams and of the thickness of the deck through an Excel tool.

Week 2 - Design of Stand-Alone Solar Power Grids

• Perform a feasibility study of an isolated photovoltaic plant in autonomy.
• Find and analyze the key parameters for plant design.
• Geographically localize the installation site and define a load profile using simple and open-access software.
• Design the battery and the panels based on the available irradiation and estimated load profile.

Week 3 - Design of Intelligent Solar/Biomass Powered Cold Storage Units

• Cold rooms and food preservation, from theory to the design of a cold room based on vapor compression technology.
• Ensuring the effective operations of a cold room, from theory to sizing both photovoltaic modules and batteries to maintain the appropriate conditions preventing safety issues while preserving food.

Prerequisites

Technical backgrounds in structural engineering, renewable energy management, and thermodynamics are recommended.

Activities

Over and above consulting the content, students will have the opportunity to discuss course topics and share ideas with peers in the Forum of this MOOC.

Assessment

The final grade for the course will be based on the results of answers to assessed quizzes. Students must score 60% or higher in each quiz to successfully complete the course.

Certificate

Students can achieve a certificate in the form of an Open Badge for this course if they reach at least 60% of the total score in each assessed quiz and fill in the final survey.

Information about Fees and Access to Materials

The course is delivered online and is available free of charge. Course materials will remain available to all enrolled users.

Course Faculty

The course faculty includes:

• Igor Matteo Carraretto
• Nicola Toscani
• Chiara D'Ignazi
• Arianna Cavallo
• Greta Cornaggia
• Marco Carlo Rampini
• Matteo Benvenuti

Research Areas

The course covers research areas including:

• Sustainable farm design
• Road infrastructure design
• Stand-alone solar power grids
• Solar-powered cold storage units
• Vapor compression technology
• Photovoltaic modules and batteries

Language

The course is taught in English.

Target

The course is targeted at MOOCs for Bachelor of Science students.

Subject

The subject of the course is Engineering.

Length

The course is 4 weeks long.

European Qualifications Framework Level

The course is at the EQF 6 level.

Thematic Area

The thematic area of the course is NT1 Engineering, manufacturing, and construction not further defined.