A survey of Finnish energy engineering students' knowledge and perception of hydrogen technology

This paper presents the results of a survey of university students' knowledge and perception of hydrogen technology by interviewing 93 Finnish energy engineering students before and after a learning assignment that deals with hydrogen technology. The results suggest that both the students' knowledge and perception on hydrogen technology improve between the pre-assignment and the post-assignment surveys. The largest changes take place in their knowledge on hydrogen safety and their willingness to acquire a home hydrogen system. Correlations between the students' level of knowledge in various topics and their opinions strengthened and multiplied during the assignment. Some unexpected connections between knowledge and opinions occurred. The study argues that system-level approaches should be integrated in hydrogen energy education instead of just teaching chemical reactions or hydrogen technologies. Both radical and conventional problem settings that challenge the students to both think in a creative manner and to keep the realism should be cultivated.