The admission requirement is a completed and passed three-year bachelor's degree in engineering, within the areas renewable energy, electronics and electrical engineering, mechatronics or mechanical engineering, in line with the National Curriculum Regulations for Engineering Education in Norway. Furthermore, the following requirements are set, which in part go beyond the minimum requirements in the national curriculum regulations:
• At least 25 credits in relevant mathematics
• At least 5 credits in statistics
• At least 7.5 credits in physics
The weighted average grade of C or better is required.
Admission takes place in accordance with regulations on admission to studies and courses at the University of Agder https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2021-11-24-3370?q=uia
Renewable energy is defined as energy coming from resources which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, hydropower, tides, waves, geothermal heat and biomass, which is derived from living or recently living organisms, with wood being the largest biomass source today. All these sources are sustainable, because we can use them today without compromising the ability of future generations to use the same sort of sources.
A global race is on for finding the best sustainable energy solutions, and the energy sector is facing great challenges and large investment needs. The programme aims at educating candidates who can contribute in developing technological solutions for a future energy-neutral Europe. This interdisciplinary and flexible programme is internationally oriented, engaging students in advanced and challenging research projects.
The programme aims at giving students a comprehensive overview of the main areas within renewable energy production, as well as specializing in selected areas important to the energy supply system in Northern Europe. The programme addresses the major industry needs, which are multidisciplinary flexible systems and digitalization.
The programme has a wide range of basic and advanced courses, which are combined in partially overlapping ways, and can be grouped in 4 major groups of disciplines:
The Renewable energy sources and production techniques group is wide and includes six courses divided in two sets of electives courses in the 1st and 3rd semesters, allowing students to choose between different renewable energy sources and technologies, such as Wind energy, Fluid dynamics and hydro power, Combined heat and power systems, Hydrogen, battery and thermoelectricity, Solar cells and Bioenergy. All these technologies will probably play a role in the future transition from centralized energy systems to decentralized/distributed energy systems with high penetration of renewable energies and with electrification of the transport sector.
The Modelling and simulation group is composed by the courses Modelling and simulation of mechatronic systems and Data analysis and modelling techniques in renewable energy. These courses allow students to increase their problem-solving and digitalization competences, giving useful tools for research and innovation within renewable energy, but also applicable in other industries, like process industry. Topics like data mining, signal processing, numerical differentiation and integration, regression, optimization, system control and dynamic simulations will be implemented in a programming platform. Also, some physical modelling issues for planning and executing laboratory tests will be introduced.
The Electrical power systems, motors and grid group includes Power electronics for renewable energy, Electric motor drives, Power systems dynamics and Smartgrid systems. These courses cover the most common electrical issues related to renewable energy, namely electrical power systems stability and control, electrical motors design and control, power conditioning devices for integration of renewable energy sources and distributed electrical energy systems, and smart grid systems, including microgrids and demand side management. These courses give the core competences to tackle the challenges in the electrical area of the future flexible energy systems.
The Research and innovation group comprises the Energy research project and the Master’s thesis in renewable energy, where students can acquire an in-depth knowledge of one or more central topics relevant to renewable energy and the possibility to take on and complete a R&D project. The students will have the opportunity to apply physical-based or/and data-driven modelling techniques in areas related to generation, transportation, storage and distribution of renewable energy.
The more transversal electives in the 3rd semester are Life-cycle assessment and optimization of constructions, which deals with increasing concern from the society about sustainability and circular economy, Corporate economic analysis I, for obtaining basic knowledge of cost calculations and business management, and UiA Samskaping – OpenLab, where students from different study programmes work together to find solutions for real-life problems, enhancing their competence of interdisciplinary team work.
UiA has advanced laboratory facilities that will support R&D activities in the areas related to renewable energy and transportation systems, like solar energy, bioenergy, hydrogen, batteries, thermoelectric generators, power electronics, power systems and smart grids. For computational purposes, if required, students can have access to a supercomputer at the Mechatronics Innovation Lab (MIL). The strong cooperation with the industry gives UiA access to data from several different renewable energy plants and systems (like wind farms, hydro power plants, PV plants, etc.).
All courses have 7.5 ECTS credits, except the elective UiA Samskaping – OpenLab (10 ECTS) and the Master’s thesis in renewable energy (30 ECTS).
| 1. sem | ENE505-G Power Electronics for Renewable Energy 7.5 sp | MAS416-G Modelling and Simulation of Mechatronic Systems 7.5 sp | Elective Courses | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORG001-G Health, Safety and Environment 0 sp | ||||||||||||
| 2. sem | ENE411-G Power Systems Dynamics 7.5 sp | ENE506-G Smartgrid Systems 7.5 sp | ENE418-G Data Analysis and Modelling Techniques in Renewable Energy 7.5 sp | MAS409-G Electric Motor Drives 7.5 sp | ||||||||
| 3. sem | ENE503-G Energy Research Project 1 7.5 sp |
Elective Courses
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| 4. sem | ENE500-G Master's Thesis Renewable Energy 30 sp | |||||||||||
On successful completion of the programme, the student
Skills
On successful completion of the program, the student
General competence
On successful completion of the programme, the student
Teaching and working methods on the study programme are detailed in the individual course descriptions.
However, a variety of teaching and learning methods will be used: regular lectures comprise the basic teaching, but individual exercises, group exercises, laboratory work and project work is also important. Many courses include project hand-ins, with emphasis in reporting and presenting projects.
Attendance at regular lectures is not mandatory, but you may be obliged to attend certain parts of a course.
The teaching methods will, in addition to facilitating professional development, also develop the your abilities in practical problem solving and teamwork. Group projects are important throughout the entire study programme. The projects will train you in the application of theoretical knowledge and tools, to define and analyse specific issues and to develop new systems and products. Moreover, the group projects will develop the your skills in teamwork and communication.
The assessment methods are varied and closely related to the work and teaching methods and are detailed in the different course descriptions. Assessment is normally based on written exams, often combined with mandatory project hand-ins and presentations. There is also assessment based on an individual oral examination. In some courses, assessment is based on project work and students' course portfolio. Project work and midterm examinations will form part of the assessment in some courses. In all courses that end with a written examination, all coursework must be successfully completed before the you can take the examination.
The master's thesis is being assessed by two external examiners.
The Faculty of Engineering and Science has a number of agreements with foreign universities.
University courses abroad may count towards the home degree. Such courses must be approved by UiA. Please contact the programme coordinator.
Normally, student exchange takes place in the third semester. However, it is possible also to do the master's thesis abroad.
After successfully completing the master's degree, you will be able to move directly into the professional field as a graduate engineer in a range of capacities. The programme qualifies graduates for work in both the industry and the business areas. Prospective employers include energy producers and distribution companies, power-intensive industry, consulting companies, offshore industry, transportation companies and the public sector.
The programme also qualifies the graduates for a career in research, and doctoral studies in engineering in areas related to the specific fields of the master programme. For admission to a doctoral programme, you have to apply for a vacant PhD fellowship and fulfil the admission requirements in question. There are relevant doctoral programs at the University of Agder, University of South-Eastern Norway (USN), the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), at Aalborg University (AAU) and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in Denmark and at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Chalmers University and Linköping University in Sweden, as well as many other institutions.
For further information, please contact Programme coordinator Joao Leal
mail: post at uia.no
phone + 47 3814 1000
A compulsory course in Health, Safety and Environment is required for students admitted to the programme.
It is a requirement that all students at UiA have their own portable computer (laptop) for use in teaching and examinations, see Examination Regulations, University of Agder, §12d
120
Full time
Grimstad
Faculty of Engineering and Science