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Dr. Nadezhda Kunicina

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Guest Editor

Institute of Industrial Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical and Environmental Engineering, Riga Technical University, Kipsalas Str 6A, LV-1048 Riga, Latvia
Interests: electrical engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Rasa Bruzgiene

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Guest Editor

Department of Computer Sciences, Faculty of Informatics, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania
Interests: cybersecurity; communication networks; cyber-physical systems; sustainability in cybersecurity; inclusive education in engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The inter-and transdisciplinary research field of sustainability sciences has established itself all over the world as a result of global challenges in the protection of the climate and the environment. The idea of sustainable sciences has resulted in new approaches to education that all focus on the goals of sustainable development, which aims at ensuring development that satisfies people's well-being in the present without reducing their opportunities for well-being in the future. UNESCO prioritizes engineering for sustainable development, as engineers play an important role in addressing fundamental human needs such as decreasing poverty, providing clean water and electricity, reacting to natural catastrophes, developing solid energy-aware infrastructure, and bridging the development gap. This Special Issue will focus on innovations in education for sustainability in engineering.

With this Special Issue, we encourage authors to share their experience and insights in educating the new generation of engineers capable of developing eco-friendly, resource-aware solutions for human well-being. We are looking for novel value-based teaching and learning methods, models, methodological tools, techniques and approaches addressing learners’ skills and abilities to think–solve–develop–analyze–implement for: a) sustainable computing—software, coding, sensing, smart systems, multimedia systems, informatics engineering, algorithms and applications; b) sustainable communications—networking, protocols, data protection, sustainable security, hardware, technologies; c) sustainable engineering—design of systems, design of operating systems, control and management, design of technologies, saving of energy and thermal resources.

Dr. Nadezhda Kunicina
Dr. Rasa Bruzgiene
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

sustainability in engineering
sustainable development
inclusive education
microcredentials in e-learning
technology-based learning
practice-focused learning
emerging technologies in education
challenge-based learning
project-oriented learning
inquiry-based learning
blended learning

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 1457 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Generative AI for Customizable Learning Experiences

by Ivica Pesovski, Ricardo Santos, Roberto Henriques and Vladimir Trajkovik

Sustainability 2024, 16(7), 3034; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16073034 - 5 Apr 2024

Viewed by 3103

Abstract

The introduction of accessible generative artificial intelligence opens promising opportunities for the implementation of personalized learning methods in any educational environment. Personalized learning has been conceptualized for a long time, but it has only recently become realistic and truly achievable. In this paper, we propose an affordable and sustainable approach toward personalizing learning materials as part of the complete educational process. We have created a tool within a pre-existing learning management system at a software engineering college that automatically generates learning materials based on the learning outcomes provided by the professor for a particular class. The learning materials were composed in three distinct styles, the initial one being the traditional professor style and the other two variations adopting a pop-culture influence, namely Batman and Wednesday Addams. Each lesson, besides being delivered in three different formats, contained automatically generated multiple-choice questions that students could use to check their progress. This paper contains complete instructions for developing such a tool with the help of large language models using OpenAI’s API and an analysis of the preliminary experiment of its usage performed with the help of 20 college students studying software engineering at a European university. Participation in the study was optional and on voluntary basis. Each student’s tool usage was quantified, and two questionnaires were conducted: one immediately after subject completion and another 6 months later to assess both immediate and long-term effects, perceptions, and preferences. The results indicate that students found the multiple variants of the learning materials really engaging. While predominantly utilizing the traditional variant of the learning materials, they found this approach inspiring, would recommend it to other students, and would like to see it more in classes. The most popular feature were the automatically generated quiz-style tests that they used to assess their understanding. Preliminary evidence suggests that the use of various versions of learning materials leads to an increase in students’ study time, especially for students who have not mastered the topic otherwise. The study’s small sample size of 20 students restricts its ability to generalize its findings, but its results provide useful early insights and lay the groundwork for future research on AI-supported educational strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Education for Sustainable Computing, Communications and Applied Engineering)

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11 pages, 2396 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Approach Development for Education of Electrical Engineers in Long-Term Online Education Conditions

by Iryna Trunova, Shchasiana Arhun, Andrii Hnatov, Peteris Apse-Apsitis, Nadezhda Kunicina and Vasiliy Myhal

Sustainability 2023, 15(18), 13289; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813289 - 5 Sep 2023

Viewed by 770

Abstract

The prolongation of the online education period is a significant challenge nowadays in Ukraine. Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, educational institutions have been destroyed, leading to a significant movement of students both within the country and abroad. Consequently, the quality of educational services has suffered, particularly in technical specialties that require hands-on and laboratory work. The objective of this article is to explore solutions for training Ukrainian students in technical fields under the circumstances of war, with a focus on ensuring their safety and improving the overall quality of education. This article analyzes the existing methods of conducting laboratory work in remote settings. It identifies that distance learning at foreign universities, without the necessity of physical relocation, holds the most promising potential. Moreover, it recommends leveraging the “My Digital Electrical Engineering” (MDEE) laboratory, developed at RTU, for conducting remote laboratory work. A comprehensive examination of the MDEE laboratory is presented, along with a step-by-step algorithm for integrating it into the educational process at KhNAHU. The findings of this study can be utilized to enhance distance learning practices in Ukrainian technical universities. This, in turn, will enable students to continue their education during the war while ensuring their safety and facilitating the acquisition of knowledge at a high standard. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Education for Sustainable Computing, Communications and Applied Engineering)

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