Survey Link or contact Miranda's Email
For the past 6 months the Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles (www.apev.org.nz) has been researching and developing a comprehensive programme called 'EVolocity' to encourage electric vehicle technological innovation and broaden support in New Zealand for this emerging and potentially lucrative industry. Rather than simply promoting the environmental and functional benefits of electric vehicles, APEV has developed a long-term strategy to help kiwis benefit from the multiplicity of economic growth opportunities that EV's present through energy efficiency, technological design innovation, software, component manufacture and export.
This opportunity can’t be realised without first building capability. EVolocity engages with high schools, tertiary institutions and corporates, by way of an exciting design & build competition that will culminate in an EVolovity Electric Vehicle event at the end of 2014.
At the high school level, the EV curriculum must be aligned with both the NZC Technology and Science Curriculum Statements. For the purposes of education, an electric vehicle includes any vehicle, mobile or robotic that is developed through an educational programme and is driven by electricity. A key factor in the possible success of this initiative will be human resources and online support, ie empowering key innovative Technology teachers to drive this curriculum and possibly assess the key skills that this curriculum provides. This EV Curriculum Initiative provides an important pipeline for engineering companies and tertiary institutions in the future. It is important that curriculum rather than assessment drives this initiative, as the knowledge and skills from the design and build are central to the learning. The Canterbury Region has been selected as the key growth area for the EV initiative, due to the readiness of industry sponsorship in that region and the capacity, motivation and innovativeness of teachers in the region. It is envisaged that the Steering group will participate in development of a TRCC – Teacher Refresher Course - themed Electric Vehicles or themed along the lines set out by APEV to align Technology and Science teaching with the APEV development strategy. Some students participating in the curriculum will only get as far as the Design Phase, and be limited by time or resources, but they can gain credits in Technological Modelling, and continue with the competition the following year.
We would love you to be involved.
Thanks for your participation!