This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the peer evaluation in a first-year Bachelor of Science (BSc) Electrical Engineering project involving 17 groups of 6-9 students. Students evaluated each other and themselves on five peer evaluation dimensions, namely job performance, attitude, leadership/initiative, communication, and teamwork, using a 1-5 scale (5 being the highest). The academic performance metrics (first-year BSc overall grade point average (GPA) and project final grade) were collected for our analysis. A dedicated measure, the “Factor” (a student's average peer rating divided by the overall group average), was used to measure the peer evaluation results. Overall, though the correlation between peer evaluations and academic performance was low (r = 0.04), we found a strong correlation (r = 0.71) among students with lower peer evaluation scores. In general, in groups, self-assessments and peer evaluations were highly correlated (r = 0.82). We performed further statistical analyses such as multiple linear regression, clustering, mediation analysis and random forest regression in this study. While peer evaluations capture important aspects of teamwork and interpersonal skills, for most of the students, they seem likely more reflective of project-related competencies than necessarily only the overall GPA. Our findings suggest that the insights from BuddyCheck data can serve as an early indicator for targeted future interventions, enhancing collaborative learning outcomes in our projects. Note that, to further preserve anonymity, neither the project name nor the academic year/cohort is disclosed in this paper.

The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the overall performance of a battery energy storage system (BESS) during I) grid‐connected, II) black start, and III) islanded operating modes. To do so, firstly, a novel three‐mode controller is proposed and developed. The proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller is implemented, including the following three components: (1) inertia emulation, (2) frequency‐active power and voltage‐reactive power droops, and (3) secondary frequency and voltage controllers. Secondly, to effectively evaluate the proposed controller performance under various grid operating conditions during both black start and seamless transition to islanded operation, a set of comprehensive dynamic simulations using Matlab/Simulink is carried out. To this end, the sensitivity analyses on numerous grid operating parameters, such as pre‐disturbance grid power, total installed BESS capacity, battery state of charge, unbalanced three‐phase load flows, implemented power‐frequency controller parameters, and distribution network types with various shares of dynamic and static loads, are performed. Thirdly, to practically improve the seamless transition performance enabling the demand response participation, a fast‐controlled thermostatic load scheme is implemented. Simulation results show that the BESS unit using the proposed three‐mode controller has great potential to successfully control the frequency and voltage within allowable limits during both islanding and black start modes over a wide range of grid operating conditions.

In recent years, several demonstration projects using dc microgrids have been implemented across the world due to some distinct advantages of dc over ac systems. The purpose of such initiatives is to validate the theoretically predicted benefits of dc distribution in practical scenarios. This chapter presents a noncomprehensive overview of existing demonstrations and pilot projects for a wide range of applications such as off-grid microgrids, transportation electrification, datacenters, residential and industrial purposes. For each application, key aspects such as architecture, components, control, protection and socioeconomic impacts are highlighted. A short discussion is offered on trends in voltage levels, capacity and topology, progressing toward possible standardization approaches based on recognized best practice.