ARCPHOTOVOLTAICSCENTRE OFEXCELLENCE2010/11ANNUAL REPORT5.6 Promotional ActivitiesThe Centre regularly participates in promotionalactivities organised by the Faculty <strong>of</strong> Engineeringand UNSW Student Recruitment. These events areimportant for increasing awareness and interest inthe Centre’s educational and research programs.5.6.1 The Shi’s Family CharitableFoundation and The SydneyTheatre CompanyThe School has been a major participant in theSydney Theatre Company’s high-pr<strong>of</strong>ile “Greeningthe Wharf” project that is improving the waterefficiency and greenhouse gas impact <strong>of</strong> the WharfTheatre, at Walsh Bay. UNSW, in consultation withthe Shi’s Family Charitable Foundation has agreedthat the STC’s “Greening the Wharf” project is aproject suitable to showcase the Pluto technologyas an example <strong>of</strong> UNSW and Suntech’s researchexcellence. The School contributed $2m, donatedby the Shi’s Family Charitable Foundation, towardsthe establishment <strong>of</strong> a 380kW pgrid-connectedphotovoltaic array on the Wharf’s ro<strong>of</strong>, completedand opened in December 2010. The balance <strong>of</strong>funding for the $4 million project was raised bySydney Theatre Company from The Commonwealthceremony with Federal Minister for Climate Changeand Water Penny Wong and Federal EnvironmentMinister Peter Garrett, Mrs Vivienne Shi, UNSWChancellor David Gonski, Scientia Pr<strong>of</strong>essor MartinGreen and Dr Richard Corkish.5.6.2 Print and Broadcast MediaStudent recruitment advertisements werealso placed in the HSC Survival Magazine, theHSC Change <strong>of</strong> Preference Guide, and the HSCUniversities Advisory and Information Day Guide.Media mentions <strong>of</strong> the School and the Centrebecame more frequent in 2010 as communityinterest in climate change and renewable energyissues grew.5.6.3 UNSW Information DayLocal undergraduate students must apply foradmission to UNSW programs through theUniversities Admissions Centre (UAC), and the firstweek <strong>of</strong> January is the final opportunity for studentsto change their preferences for entry to universityprograms. Therefore, the university hosted aninformation day in January 2010 to assist studentsobtain information to finalise their preferences.School administrative and academic staff attendedthis event and talked to many prospective studentswho were unsure <strong>of</strong> their career direction. Studentsreceived information on our programs and hadthe opportunity to ask questions <strong>of</strong> staff. A finalround <strong>of</strong> interviews for the Faculty <strong>of</strong> EngineeringAdmissions Scheme (FEAS) was carried out on thesame day.Pictured at the launch <strong>of</strong> the WharfTheatre’s ro<strong>of</strong>top PV array are,(left-right):Dr. Richard Corkish,Head <strong>of</strong> School; Mr GeorgeMaltabarow, Managing Director,EnergyAustralia; The Hon. FrankSartor, NSW Minister for ClimateChange and the Environment;The Hon. Tony Burke MP, FederalMinister for Sustainability,Environment Water, Populationand Communities; Senator TheHon Don Farrell, ParliamentarySecretary for Sustainability andUrban Water; Cate Blanchett,Artistic co-Director, Sydney TheatreCompany; Dr Zhengrong Shi, CEO<strong>of</strong> Suntech Power Holdings; MrsVivienne Shi, Director, Shi’s FamilyCharity; Andrew Upton, Artistic co-Director, Sydney Theatre Company.(Image produced by and used withpermission <strong>of</strong> AAP).Government’s Green Precincts Fund, NSWGovernment’s Public Facilities Program, corporatesponsor Energy Australia and philanthropists.The project grew from two sources. Firstly, Dr ShiZhengrong, CEO <strong>of</strong> Suntech Power, expresseda wish to make a gift to UNSW and to Sydneyfor helping him start his successful career inphotovoltaics and to use it as a promotional tool.This led to a study <strong>of</strong> several prominent sites inSydney and a pre-feasibility study, carried out asa final year thesis project by Samantha Wong. Inparallel, Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton, theArtistic Directors <strong>of</strong> the Sydney Theatre Company,were seeking opportunities to generate a significantpart <strong>of</strong> the Company’s energy from renewablesources. Bringing the two ideas together led tothe <strong>of</strong>ficial launch in July 2009 <strong>of</strong> the project at a5.6.4 UNSW Courses and Careers DayUNSW Courses and Careers Day is the annualinformation day, held in the first week <strong>of</strong>September, for prospective students to obtaininformation about programs and student life atthe university. As part <strong>of</strong> this day students andacademic and administrative staff from the Schoolprovided advice and information to prospectivestudents from information desks in the Roundhouseand in a marquee in the UNSW Quad, nearby theSunsprint model solar car race finals. This year,the weather was, unfortunately, far from ideal forthe 2010 event. During the day Dr Alistair Sproulpresented two public lectures about the School’sand Centre’s programs as part <strong>of</strong> the lecture seriesorganised centrally by the university.5.6.5 Faculty <strong>of</strong> Engineering InformationDay for High School StudentsEach year the Faculty <strong>of</strong> Engineering organisesan information day to give high school studentsand their teachers an opportunity to learn aboutengineering and the programs <strong>of</strong>fered at UNSW.As part <strong>of</strong> the day students visit three engineeringschools <strong>of</strong> their choice and engage in interactiveactivities aimed at demonstrating the relevantengineering area. Once again in 2010 the demandto attend this event was so great that two HighSchools Days were required, with the Schoolrunning several tours.116
ARCPHOTOVOLTAICSCENTRE OFEXCELLENCE2010/11ANNUAL REPORTSome <strong>of</strong> the students who participated in the UNSWSunSprint Model Solar Car Challenge.5.6.6 Honeywell EngineeringSummer SchoolThe Honeywell Engineering Summer School isan event held in December and is conducted byEngineers Australia. As part <strong>of</strong> the summer schoolhigh school students from across NSW and the ACTabout to enter their final year take part in a week <strong>of</strong>activities which involves industry visits and lecturesand demonstrations at a number <strong>of</strong> universities.In 2010 approximately 30 students visited theCentre to participate in hands-on activities andinformation provision.5.6.7 Model Solar Vehicle ChallengesSunSprint Model Solar Car ChallengeThe SunSprint Model Solar Car Challenge is aphotovoltaics project-based learning eventdesigned for high school students. In the event,solar cars are designed and built accordingto specifications provided by the Australian-International Model Solar Challenge (AIMSC), anational organization overseeing and linking all <strong>of</strong>the state events. These specifications provide designcriteria that, when followed, allow students all overAustralia to build model solar cars that are uniformlycompetitive with respect to cost and use <strong>of</strong>materials. The students contribute ideas, inspiration,time and money. The average vehicle costs over$600 and takes the team over four months to designand build. Many schools throughout NSW haveallowed final year design and technology studentsto adopt SunSprint as their year-long major project.High school physics and science teachers havealso used SunSprint as a class-based teachingproject as SunSprint addresses several aspects <strong>of</strong>the curriculum.The UNSW Faculty <strong>of</strong> Engineering initiated theproject in 1996 with the Photovoltaics Centre<strong>of</strong> Excellence taking over its operation in 1999.In 2005 the UNSW Faculty <strong>of</strong> Science joinedthe Faculty <strong>of</strong> Engineering and the Centre injointly sponsoring the event.The 2010 SunSprint Model Solar Car Challengewas run on September 3 rd and 4 th , 2010 undertruly horrible conditions with extraordinaryamounts <strong>of</strong> rain and virtually no sunlight. Thewinning cars were able to actively competeusing only 10% <strong>of</strong> the normal amount<strong>of</strong> sunshine.Only 10% Sunshine and lots <strong>of</strong>rain at the UNSW Model SolarVehicle Challenges.117
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