Learning Electric Vehicles and Traction at the Polytechnic of Coimbra

Electric traction and propulsion are fundamental for sustainable mobility, with electric vehicles but also with other transportation means as trains and boats. Its current state of development and deployment is expected to increase the search for graduated people and foster employment on the electric vehicles' and related components' research, development, design, manufacturing, testing and servicing fields. In this paper, the experience on teaching and learning about electric vehicles and electric traction at the Polytechnic of Coimbra, namely in the frame of its electrical engineering master course, is presented, where the "Electric Traction and Vehicles" master's subject addresses mainly four topics: importance, problems and solutions for sustainable mobility; electric road vehicles; railway electric traction; and an introduction to electric boats. Other aspects of learning are also presented, through some BSc, master and research & development projects description.