The partners in the InnoEnergy Master’s School ecosystem are driving the energy transition in many different ways. The real-life challenges they set are a core part of our programmes. This challenge-driven approach to education gives you practical experience of how they are driving change, the issues they have to consider, the problems they have to solve, and the ways they measure success.
Engineering and Business Case powered by InnoEnergy® (E&BC).
Exclusively available on the MSc RENE programme, E&BC combines the case method of teaching (developed by Harvard and ESADE, and now a key feature of leading MBA courses) and project-based learning pioneered by Aalborg University and widely used in engineering schools. Local start-ups are actively involved in setting challenges. Recently students have worked on finding new markets for hydraulic energy recovery technology (with Tecnoturbines); assessing new opportunities in the offshore aquaculture sector (with Smalle); and working on the application of Peltier cells to the reverse side of solar PV panels (with AEInnova).
Students work on industrial innovation projects in close collaboration with a variety of business partners, developing new solutions to the challenges they set and taking advantage of the opportunity to work on-site with company engineers and R&D professionals. One of the most recent Industrial innovation projects was set for MSc SENSE students, who worked on the E16 Electric Road project – the first test site for electrified roads in Sweden – where they were involved in testing and analysing various scenarios and situations to better understand the potential of electrified roads in Sweden and beyond.
The first-year projects of the year and second-year Integrated Project of the Year create a framework for the MSc SELECT programme. In small teams, students work on challenges that are designed to provide unique insight and hands-on experience of making the energy transition happen, building on their skills and successes throughout the two-year programme. All challenges have a strong societal focus with a clear commercial interest and benefit, and often involve international collaborations. Recently, students have worked on viable ways to replace aging, fossil-fuelled plant in Haiti as well as energy autonomy and smart grids for a Black Sea resort.
The end goal of the Innovation journey is to create a feasible prototype of a new product that can be developed for market. There are three milestones on the innovation journey, each consisting of a one-week course in a different European city: Smart Cities Week in Barcelona; the BIZ Boot Camp in Leuven or Antwerp; and the Entrepreneurship Summer School in Amsterdam. At each stage students on the MSc Energy for Smart Cities programme build on their progress and address new aspects of their challenge. For the second year any student of the programme may apply to the Entrepreneurship journey and work towards bringing their startup idea to fruition.
Developed by Harvard University the case teaching method places strong emphasis on problem-oriented, project-based learning. Students on the Msc Clean Fossil and Alternative Fuels Energy work on specific, real-world challenges set by our business partners: partners provide the context and the background; students take the lead in analysing the problem, assessing potential solutions, and making recommendations. On presenting their solutions, students also find out how their proposal compares to what the challenge-setter did in real life.