Inexpensive Hands-On Activities in Solid State Lighting

Abstract

Hands-on activities were developed as part of an overseas immersion programme (OIP) run by the School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow (UoG). The two-week OIP was a combination of academic and cultural experiences where the academic experience was a 10 credit course on solid state lighting. The course was taught for the first time in the summer of 2015 to a cohort of 32 Year 1 and Year 2 students in the undergraduate electronics and electrical engineering programmes offered at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) and the Glasgow College, UESTC (formerly known as the UoGUESTC Joint School). Both institutions of higher learning are located in Chengdu, China. The students were Chinese nationals who were in the process of building their knowledge of technical English. Three laboratory exercises and one design project were developed to provide opportunities for hands-on learning and to allow the students to explore their own ideas on solid-state lighting applications. The labs and project assigned are described along with the intended learning outcomes and a summary of student evaluations. Planned improvements to the labs and project, which will be incorporated in the when the course is offered again in the summer of 2016, will also be discussed.