Renewable Energy Systems and Technology

At the end of the course, the students should be able to: 1. identify the types, uses and advantages of renewable energy in relation to climate change; 2. design for use the various renewable energy systems; 3. recognise and analyse the current energy systems in Nigeria, their impacts on development and the global energy demand and supply scenarios; 4. appreciate the environmental impact of energy exploitation and utilisation, and pursue the sustainable development of renewable energy for various applications; and 5. recognise the exploitation, excavation, production, and processing of fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas, and discuss the sources, technology and contribution to future energy demands of renewable energy.

Current and potential future energy systems in Nigeria and globally - resources, extraction, concepts in energy conversion systems; parallels and differences in various conversion systems and end-use technologies, with emphasis on meeting 21st-century national, regional and global energy needs in a sustainable manner. Various energy technologies in each fuel cycle stage for fossil (oil, gas, synthetic), nuclear (fission and fusion) and renewable (solar, biomass, wind, hydro, and geothermal). Energy types, storage, transmission and conservation. Analysis of energy mixes within an engineering, economic and social context. Sustainable energy; emphasise sustainability in general and in the overall concept of sustainable development and the link this has with sustainable energy as the fundamental benefit of renewable energy. Practical Contents Simple measurement of solar radiation, bomb calorimeter determination of calorific value of fuels and biomass; measurement of the velocity of wind, waves and the energy that abound in them; laboratory production of biogas and determination of energy available in it; simple conversion of solar energy to electricity; transesterification of edible oil into biodiesel; simulation of geothermal energy; Geiger-Muller or Scintillation Counters’ determination of uranium or thorium energy; simple solid or salt storage of energy; hybrid application of renewable energy. GET 307: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Convergent Technologies (3 Units C: LH 45) Learning Outcomes At the completion of the course, the students are expected to be able: 1. explain the meaning, purpose, scope, stages, applications and effects of artificial intelligence; 2. explain the fundamental concepts of machine learning, deep learning and convergent technologies; 3. demonstrate the difference between supervised, semi-supervised and unsupervised learning; 4. demonstrate proficiency in machine learning workflow and how to implement the steps effectively; 5. explain natural languages, knowledge representation, expert systems and pattern recognition; 6. describe distributed systems, data and information security and intelligent web technologies; 7. explain the concept of big data analytics, purpose of studying it, issues that can arise with a data set and the importance of properly preparing data prior to a machine learning exercise; and 8. explain the concepts, characteristics, models and benefits, key security and compliance challenges of cloud computing. Course Contents Concepts of human and artificial intelligence; artificial/computational intelligence paradigms; search, logic and learning algorithms. Machine learning and nature-inspired algorithms – such as their variants and applications to solving engineering problems; understanding natural languages; knowledge representation, knowledge elicitation, mathematical and logic foundations of AI; expert systems, automated reasoning and pattern recognition; distributed systems; data and information security; intelligent web technologies; convergent technologies – definition, significance and engineering applications. Neural networks and deep learning. Introduction to python AI libraries. GET 308 Entrepreneurship and Start-ups for Engineers (2 Units C: LH 30) Learning Outcome At the end of the course students should be able to: 1. identify places of enterprises from the start or early enough; 2. explain the basics of the business environment and culture, entrepreneurship and AfCFTA, as well as how to start, grow, manage and fund a business venture; 3. exposure to opportunities in the various fields of engineering, and development practice as well as leveraging on the Nigerian Content Act; 4. development of a team project frame to exploit opportunities in the industry and markets; and 5. acquaintance with challenges, inspirational feats and success factors in the industry and market place from case histories. Course Content Understanding the Nigerian and global business environment. Doing business in Africa, Engineering, infrastructure and AfCFTA. The Nigerian Content Act, business registrations and start-ups ideation and growth. Sources of funding for business. Gains and pains of business growth. Joint ventures and Special Purpose vehicles in PPPs. Business Development – business information, promotion, marketing tools and strategies, basic personnel management, client recruitment and management. Business proposals and plans, Profiles of business ventures in the various business sectors as classified by MAN (Manufacturers Association of Nigeria). Business/enterprise commercialization and digitization, FINTECHs, TECH Hubs, etc. Financial management, Business sustainability. Case study methodology applied to business development, growth and profitability analysis. Industrial visits, mentoring and Guest presentations.