New MSc in Energy Engineering
Today’s instability and tensions in the energy markets make the energy issue particularly present in our daily lives and in that of companies. However, the energy transition is also and above all a fundamental issue that our society must face in order to shape its future in a sustainable perspective.
The European Green Deal defines the roadmap for this energy transition by highlighting the ambitious project of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. This trajectory requires profound changes in entire sectors of our economy to support the development of our activities while exploiting resources in a sustainable and environmentally responsible way. The climate and environmental imperative must lead us to reduce our carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and move away from fossil fuels. Beyond the emergency solutions sometimes envisaged and the necessary reflection on our development model, sustainable solutions must come from our ability to use energy more rationally and efficiently, to significantly increase the share of renewable energies in our energy mix and to develop storage solutions to better manage their intermittency. All these questions are at the heart of the new MSc in Energy Engineering offered by the School of Engineering of ULiège.
The new program received its accreditation from ARES in December 2022 and will welcome its first students in September 2023. To ease the integration of international students and experts in the master's degree, as well as to prepare the mobility of Liège students, all courses will be taught in English.
The program is based on the common core of scientific and technical knowledge of the engineer and on the specific disciplinary knowledge developed as part of the "energy" option of the bachelor's degree in engineering of the School of Engineering. It is built around a set of compulsory and optional courses covering the different modes of energy production/conversion, energy transport, distribution and storage, and the rational use of energy in buildings and transport. The technological aspects are complemented with a training on the way energy markets operate, regulatory constraints and geopolitical issues.
Two specializations (30 credits) are offered in the fields of components of energy systems (turbomachinery/alternators, cogeneration devices, fuel cells...), on the one hand, and energy networks (control of electrical networks, microgrids, integration of different energy carriers...), on the other hand.
Beyond its relevance for the society, the strength of the program proposed by ULiège resides in the integration of the expertise of the various professors of the School of Engineering into the interdisciplinary framework now necessary to address the energy issue in all its complexity. In particular, where technological programmes in the field of energy are very often limited to putting side by side courses in the fields of mechanics and electricity, the originality of the approach lies in the integration of inputs of other fields, in particular approaches and concepts from applied chemistry and environmental engineering. While guaranteeing the high level of technical expertise required by more traditional sectors, this approach will make it possible to develop new profiles capable of leading innovation in the field of renewable energies and their integration into flexible energy systems.
