The three semesters
The course is divided into three sections.
In the first semester, the students acquire a solid foundation in key renewable energy technologies. In the second semester, they specialise in a chosen technology at a different university and at the end of the course, the students complete a practical or research project.
The core section runs from September/October to January with the exams taking place in mid January.
Each
University has its own teaching methods; nevertheless we ensure that at the end
of the core semester all EUREC students have the same understanding and the
same knowledge on basic renewable energy technologies, enabling them to follow
any of the offered specialisations.
30 ECTS
credits will be awarded for passing the core semester following these harmonised learning
outcomes.
The Core providers all teach these subjects:
- Core Foundation
- Core Solar
- Core Wind
- Core Biomass
- Core Water
- Introduction socio-economics issues
The
distribution of modules can be organised differently in each University and
each University is free to add to its syllabus some topics of its choice, as
long as the following learning outcomes are respected.
Please click here to see the learning outcomes which are presented as follows:
General learning outcomes for the semester
Detailed learning outcomes for each topic
The specialisation sections run from February to the end of May or June depending on the specialisation. The student specialises in one of the following:
- Hybrid Systems - taught at Kassel University in Germany
- Photovoltaics - taught at the University of Northumbria in the UK
- Wind Energy - taught at the National Technical University of Athens in Greece
- Grid Integration - taught at the University of Zaragoza in Spain
- Solar Thermal - taught at the University of Perpignan in France
- Ocean Energy - taught at IST Lisbon in Portugal
Upon completion of the specialisation, the student gains practical or research experience through a project undertaken in an industry, a research laboratory or at the university. The project must contain sufficient technical and must be directly related to renewable energy. Apart from that, there is no restriction in the type of project. A wide variety of projects can be proposed and it gives flexibility to the student and the project provider to define the project. The student is welcome to propose his/her own project.
EUREC and the course directors continuously contact renewable energy companies throughout the year to encourage them to propose a student project. Yet, students should not expect to get a list of projects to choose from. Students are expected to look for companies or research centres wishing to offer them a project individually. A qualified person from the specialisation university will give students advice about how to proceed in finding the best project to suit their qualifications and expectations.
The student can also discuss directly with the project provider for the practical arrangements (allowance, accommodation, etc). When a student proposes his or her own project it must be validated by the core and specialisation providers before being accepted. Students are advised to ask the project host in order to seek insurance for them while working on the host company’s premises.
During the project, the student progress is monitored by:
- a professor from the core provider
- a professor from the specialisation provider
- a professional tutor from the project provider
The project must be presented in Brussels
where the students also have the chance to meet the staff of the
different European renewable energy associations, the course directors
and project tutors from the industry and research centres. The student
is also required to write a master thesis.
The project is marked by the core provider (the university where the student studied in the first semester).
Download our Project Guidelines 2012 here!
Examples of Past Project Titles
Here are some examples of project titles offered in the past editions of the EUREC Master :
-
Optimization of a Simulation Software for Concentrating Solar Power Plants using Trough Technology:
Development of a modular Software Concept with a transparent structure and a user friendly interface.
Development of a new structure for the input file.
Refining of the equations for the individual modules (Solar Field, HTF System, Thermal Storage, Power Block)
Development of a new structure for the output file.
Validation of the simulation tool
- Improvement of conversion efficiency of mc-Si solar cells by surface passivation and metallisation
The study consists in increasing the efficiency of industrial multicrystalline silicon cells while minimizing extra production cost. It focuses on the surface passivation and metallisation steps of fabrication. Particularly, the subjects of thin and selective emitters will be studied for the implementation in the manufacture.
- Development of Canadian Regional Wind Indices
In each of our principal markets it is considered imperative that GH establish at minimum a thorough knowledge of the availability and suitability of sources of local reference data including meteorological stations and reanalysis data. If suitable stations can be identified, then regional wind indices should be developed for commercial use to give an indication of the relative windiness of a region relative to that of the long-term. This would be carried out following similar methodology to that used by GH in the UK, and elsewhere in Europe. Where no such direct indices are considered possible, a review of the mechanisms producing the winds and thence potential proxies, such as atmospheric pressure differentials, may be explored.
- Study of an innovative device to purify the gas issued from biomass pyrolysis or gasification
In collaboration with Eifer (research institute from EDF), the aim of the project is to qualify a new process of purification for the gas issued from biomass pyrolysis or gasification. Eifer had developed and patented a process to reduce the quantity of tars in flue gases. The objective of the training period is to validate the interest of this process with laboratory scale tests.
A lab device has already been installed in the University of Nancy at ENSTIB : the tests will be performed directly on this device with measurements of the gas quality (mainly tar content) for different operating conditions. The data obtained should be used to design a pilot device and should define the good operative conditions.
- Energy self sufficient house based on biomass
This project is linked to a house which has been built as a demo project for a sustainable building. This house has a very low energy consumption and materials made of renewable resources have been used such as straw bales for the construction. The aim of this project is to develop a strategy for the supply of energy, heat and electricity by the use of solar thermal energy, photovoltaics and biomass. A concept/system will be created using the heat and electricity supply to be used as back up, in the case where the house is built in an area where there is not enough sun to supply the house with electricity and heat. The project is part theoretical and part practical and the aim of the whole project is to bring the house to a level of maturity in order to introduce it in 3rd world countries.
