Visit our website for more information on fees, scholarships, postgraduate loans and other funding options to study Power Engineering and Sustainable Energy at Swansea University - 'Welsh University of the Year 2017' (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017).
The Master's course in Power Engineering and Sustainable Energy places strong emphasis on state-of-the-art semiconductor devices and technologies, advanced power electronics and drives, and advanced power systems. The Power Engineering and Sustainable Energy course also covers conventional and renewable energy generation technologies. Exciting new developments such as wide band gap electronics, energy harvesting, solar cells and biofuels are discussed and recent developments in power electronics are highlighted.
The College of Engineering has an international reputation for electrical and electronics research for energy and advanced semiconductor materials and devices.
Greenhouse gas emission and, consequently, global warming are threatening the global economy and world as we know it. A non-rational use of electrical energy largely contributes to these.
Sustainable energy generation and utilisation is a vital industry in today’s energy thirsty world. Energy generation and conversion, in the most efficient way possible, is the key to reducing carbon emissions. It is an essential element of novel energy power generation system and future transportation systems. The core of an energy conversion system is the power electronics converter which in one hand ensures the maximum power capture from any energy source and on another hand controls the power quality delivered to grid. Therefore the converter parameters such as efficiency, reliability and costs are directly affecting the performance of an energy system.
Transmission and distribution systems will encounter many challenges in the near future. Decentralisation of generation and storage systems has emerged as a promising solution. Consequently, in the near future, a power grid will no longer be a mono-directional energy flow system but a bi-directional one, requiring a much more complex management.
The MSc in Power Engineering and Sustainable Energy is modular in structure. Students must obtain a total of 180 credits to qualify for the degree. This is made up of 120 credits in the taught element (Part One) and a project (Part Two) that is worth 60 credits and culminates in a written dissertation. Power Engineering and Sustainable Energy students must successfully complete Part One before being allowed to progress to Part Two.
Part-time Delivery mode
The part-time scheme is a version of the full-time equivalent MSc in Power Engineering and Sustainable Energy scheme, and as such it means lectures are spread right across each week and you may have lectures across every day. Due to this timetabling format, the College advises that the scheme is likely to suit individuals who are looking to combine this with other commitments (typically family/caring) and who are looking for a less than full-time study option.
Those candidates seeking to combine the part-time option with full-time work are unlikely to find the timetable suitable, unless their job is extremely flexible and local to the Bay Campus.
Modules on the MSc Power Engineering and Sustainable Energy course can vary each year but you could expect to study:
Advanced Power Electronics and Drives
Power Semiconductor Devices
Advanced Power Systems
Energy and Power Engineering Laboratory
Power Generation Systems
Modern Control Systems
Wide Band-Gap Electronics
Environmental Analysis and Legislation
Communication Skills for Research Engineers
Optimisation
The new home of MSc in Power Engineering and Sustainable Energy is at the innovative Bay Campus provides some of the best university facilities in the UK, in an outstanding location.
Engineering at Swansea University has extensive IT facilities and provides extensive software licenses and packages to support teaching. In addition the University provides open access IT resources.
Our new WOLFSON Foundation funded Power Electronics and Power System (PEPS) laboratory well-appointed with the state-of the-art equipment supports student research projects.
Employment in growing renewable energy sector, power electronic and semiconductor sector, electric/hybrid vehicle industry.
The MSc Power Engineering and Sustainable Energy is for graduates who may want to extend their technical knowledge and for professional applicants be provided with fast-track career development. This MSc addresses the skills shortage within the power electronics for renewable energy sector.
BT, Siemens, Plessey, GE Lighting, Schlumberger, Cogsys, Morganite, Newbridge Networks, Alstom, City Technology, BNR Europe, Philips, SWALEC, DERA, BTG, X-Fab, ZETEX Diodes, IQE, IBM, TSMC, IR, Toyota, Hitachi.
As a student on the MSc Power Engineering and Sustainable Energy course, you will learn about numerical simulation techniques and have the opportunity to visit electronics industries with links to Swansea.
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 ranks Engineering at Swansea as 10th in the UK for the combined score in research quality across the Engineering disciplines.
The REF assesses the quality of research in the UK Higher Education sector, assuring us of the standards we strive for.
World-Leading Research
The REF shows that 94% of research produced by our academic staff is of World-Leading (4*) or Internationally Excellent (3*) quality. This has increased from 73% in the 2008 RAE.
Research pioneered at the College of Engineering harnesses the expertise of academic staff within the department. This ground-breaking multidisciplinary research informs our world-class teaching with several of our staff leaders in their fields.
With recent academic appointments strengthening electronics research at the College, the Electronic Systems Design Centre (ESDC) has been re-launched to support these activities.
The Centre aims to represent all major electronics research within the College and to promote the Electrical and Electronics Engineering degree.
Best known for its research in ground-breaking Power IC technology, the key technology for more energy efficient electronics, the Centre is also a world leader in semiconductor device modelling, FEM and compact modelling.
Renewable energy and cutting carbon emissions now top the global environmental agenda. This programme addresses the fundamentals of renewable energy and shows how solar, wind and other such energy sources can be efficiently integrated into practical power systems.
You’ll study core power engineering topics such as power electronic converters, machines and control alongside modules specific to renewable energy sources, on topics like power system modelling, analysis and power converters.
At the same time, you’ll study a unique set of modules on the efficient generation of electricity from solar and wind power, as well as integrating renewable generators into micro-grids, with stability analysis and active power management. Power electronics design is covered in depth, including conventional and emerging converter topologies and advances in semiconductor power devices.
You’ll be prepared to meet the renewable energy challenges of the 21st century in a wide range of careers.
School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Our School is an exciting and stimulating environment where you’ll learn from leading researchers in specialist facilities. These include our Keysight Technologies wireless communications lab, as well as labs for embedded systems, power electronics and drives.
Depending on your choice of research project, you may also have access to our labs in ultrasound and bioelectronics or our Terahertz photonics lab, class 100 semiconductor cleanroom, traffic generators and analysers, FPGA development tools, sensor network test beds. We have facilities for electron-beam lithography and ceramic circuit fabrication – and a III-V semiconductor molecular beam epitaxy facility.
This course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) under licence from the UK regulator, the Engineering Council.
Core modules that run throughout the year will allow you to take part in different lab-based projects and explore different forms of renewable energy as well as how they can be integrated into electricity systems. You’ll also consider how renewable source-powered generations can be integrated into the grid and analysis and design of control systems.
To build your understanding of the global electronics industry, you’ll also complete a dissertation. This could take the form of a business, manufacturing or outsourcing plan, a proposal for research funding or an essay on a specific aspect of the industry.
You’ll complete your studies with three optional modules, selecting one from each of three pairs that cover different topics. If you have no experience of c-programming you’ll take a module that develops those skills, or another focusing on software development. You’ll choose between Power Electronics and Drives and Electric Drives and take another module from Energy Management and Conservation and Energy in Buildings.
Over the summer months you’ll also work on your research project. This gives you the chance to work as an integral part of one of our active research groups, focusing on a specialist topic in power electronics, power engineering and control and selecting the appropriate research methods.
Want to find out more about your modules?
Take a look at the Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy Systems module descriptions for more detail on what you will study.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
Our groundbreaking research feeds directly into teaching, and you’ll have regular contact with staff who are at the forefront of their disciplines. You’ll have regular contact with them through lectures, seminars, tutorials, small group work and project meetings. Independent study is also important to the programme, as you develop your problem-solving and research skills as well as your subject knowledge.
You’ll be assessed using a range of techniques including case studies, technical reports, presentations, in-class tests, assignments and exams. Optional modules may also use alternative assessment methods.
The research project is one of the most satisfying elements of this course. It allows you to apply what you’ve learned to a piece of research focusing on a real-world problem, and it can be used to explore and develop your specific interests.
Recent projects by students on this programme have included:
Renewable energy and efficient power conversion systems are of immense importance worldwide and graduates of this course can expect to find jobs in a wide variety of industries including the electronics, automotive, transport, construction, industrial automation, power utility, energy, oil and environmental sectors.
You’ll be well-placed to develop practical solutions to the problem of integrating renewable energy systems into established electricity distribution networks. You should be able to contribute to strategic planning, systems implementation and operation of sustainable power generation systems.
This programme is also excellent preparation for PhD study.
