A versatile and low-cost approach to power electronics practical training

Electrical machines, power electronics, and electric drives have permeated several industrial sectors with applications spanning across electrical and mechanical engineering, automotive, aerospace, renewable energy, etc. As such, there is an increasing demand for engineers with a skill set in power electronics, machines and drives. In electrical engineering education and specifically in the power electronics field, practical training is a key requirement to train a high-calibre power electronic engineer with skills that satisfies industry needs and employer expectations. In this work, a group from the University of Sheffield introduces a universal power electronics board that is versatile and compact. The proposed board is highly modular and emulates a graduate experience in industry settings. The board provides practical power electronics education resources to address industry needs and minimise cost to higher education institutions whilst enabling scalability in practical teaching, allowing more students to benefit from this type of training. The proposed system also addresses learning outcomes at levels 3, 4 and 5 for vocational qualifications, covering both the basics of power electronics and more advanced application-level concepts.