Partners

COMILLAS

Comillas Pontifical University has implemented projects in line with the EMJD objectives, notably knowledge transfer in the area of electricity reform the world over, especially in Europe and Latin America. The university has also participated actively in the European Union’s Framework Programme (FP) for Research and Technological Development. A detailed review of these projects can be found in the preceding sections. Briefly, the SETS-related projects in which COMILLAS has participated in the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes include: SESSA (Sustainable Energy Specific Support Assessment), VBPC-RES (Virtual Balkan Power Centre for Advance of Renewable Energy Sources in Western Balkans), SOLID-DER (Coordination Action to consolidate RTD activities for large-scale integration of DER into the European electricity market), CESSA (Coordinating Energy Security in Supply Activities), ADDRESS (Active Distribution networks with full integration of Demand and distributed energy RESource) and SUSPLAN (Development of regional and Pan-European guidelines for more efficient integration of renewable energy into future infrastructures). Other DG-TREN projects in which COMILLAS has been involved are: DG-GRID (Enhancement of sustainable electricity supply through improvements of the regulatory framework of the distribution network for DG), RESPOND (Renewable Electricity Supply interactions with conventional Power generation, Networks and demand) and IMPROGRESS (Improvement of the Social Optimal Outcome of Market Integration of DG/RES in European Electricity Markets).

COMILLAS has close working relations with the present EES-UETP partners and European energy research institutes, and partners with MIT in Boston and the University of California at Berkeley via exchange and visiting scholar programmes. In conjunction with TU Delft and Paris-Sud 11, COMILLAS delivers the Erasmus Master Course on Economics and Management of Network Industries, supported by the EC’s Erasmus Mundus Programme. The Florence School of Regulation (FSR), affiliated with the European University Institute, also collaborates in this graduate programme. COMILLAS heads the EES-UETP and has coordinated several ALFA and ALURE networks devoted to the furtherance of electric power system training in Latin American countries. Spanish master’s and PhD courses are regularly offered every academic year. Two on-line courses are provided yearly for regulators and other professionals, one for Latin American countries and the other for Eastern European countries in conjunction with the Energy Regulators Regional Association (ERRA).

Furthermore, COMILLAS has considerable experience in student training and mobility, having coordinated 11 COMETT programme projects, 17 Socrates Erasums projects and nine Leonardo da Vinci projects (mobility and pilot projects). In all, COMILLAS has overseen mobility arrangements for approximately 4 000 students in academic or job placements in 200 universities and over 700 companies.

COMILLAS also coordinates the Erasmus Mundus Master Course in Economics and Management of Network Industries (EMIN):

The institution has also long been hosting international students. Its International Relations Office provides guidance and support for PhD students in all practical aspects of the programme.

TU Delft

The Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management of Delft University of Technology houses the Delft Research Centre for Next Generation Infrastructures. These centres conduct research on water, electricity, transport and vital communication infrastructures. The Delft Research Centre for Next Generation Infrastructures, with its constituent projects, is one of the many partners of the Next Generation Infrastructures Foundation (NGInfra Foundation), a large international consortium of infrastructure researchers and practitioners. The Foundation is funded partially by a government grant (Bsik) and partially by the partners. Consortium members are already partnering in several research projects.

Currently, COMILLAS, TUDelft and Paris-Sud 11 are engaged in an international research network that is conducting several research projects, funded primarily by the European Commission’s 6th Framework Programme or linked to the research institute funded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Cambridge. Network membership also includes researchers from other institutions such as École des Mines de Paris, University of Louvain, Universitá Bocconi, Florence School of Regulation - Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute in Florence (Italy), Norwegian School of Management, Vienna University of Technology, DIW Berlin, National Technical University of Athens, University of Geneva, Stanford University, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Indian Institute of Technology, or MA National Institute of Technology at Bhopal. This large network of research interests will be transferred to students and reflected in course content.

Faculty student counsellors are available to all TU Delft students, who also have student coaches whom they may consult, in particular with respect to problems in their studies.

KTH

The KTH Royal School of Engineering – Stockholm team is devoted to sustainable energy systems and energy efficiency and has internationally renowned expertise in power dynamic system behaviour (particularly with regard to large scale integration of RES and DG), deregulated electricity markets, power system security and reliability, and application of controllable devices (such as FACTS and HVDC). Its (national and international) MSc and PhD programs are also highly reputed. The team concentrates a good deal of knowledge on power engineering with strong industry links, and hosts the Centre of Competence in Electric Power Engineering (international centre with nine industry partners), supported by Swedish Energy Agency. It is also an experienced conference (Power Tech. 95, PMAPS 06 and wind power workshops) and advanced course organiser. The institute has excellent research and education resources, with well equipped laboratories and computation facilities.

KTH has close working relations with ABB, Svenska Kraftnät, Vattenfall and E.ON in Sweden, and Main Electrical Networks Company Ltd in Estonia. Participation in EU research projects: WILMAR (Wind power Integration in a Liberalized electricity MARket), and DOWNVInD (Distant Offshore Windfarms with No Visual Impact in Deepwater).

KTH has long engaged in high quality training and tutoring. On average, the KTH team involved in the SETS programme supervises three PhD theses and 15 MSc dissertations yearly. The team currently delivers a number of courses forming part of the national and international graduate and post graduate programmes. KTH participates in the EES–UETP consortium and has organised a course on power network stability and control.

Since 1997 the KTH Department of Energy Technology, affiliated with the School of Industrial Engineering and Management, has delivered the programme for an international MSc degree in Sustainable Energy Engineering (SEE). The programme is divided into three specialities: sustainable power generation; sustainable energy utilization in the built environment; and solar energy (in conjunction with Dalarna University College at Borlänge). The SEE Program is a partner in the Erasmus Mundus initiative. A new programme has also been created in collaboration with universities in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland.

PSUD 11

University Paris-Sud 11 is presently leading or partnering in three important research projects within the European Commission’s 6th Framework Programme: SESSA (a European Energy Reform and Regulation Assessment and Benchmark specific action), the forthcoming REFGOUV (a Governance of the General Economic Interest in the European Network Industry integrated project) and DIME (a European Local and Regional Development of an Information and Knowledge based Society and Economy network of excellence). J.M. Glachant and the ADIS Research Centre have led ten major Network Industry research projects (including European Commission DG Tren and DG Research) over the past five years. An international office at the University, with a staff of six, attends to foreign student needs.

JHU

At Johns Hopkins University the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering was established in 1968 but with roots dating to 1937. This department has always been concerned with identifying, understanding, describing and solving environmental problems. Its core mission is to improve the human condition through the development and promotion of sound, sustainable environmental practices, and to educate future generations of environmental leaders. The department's graduate and undergraduate programs in environmental engineering have been consistently ranked among the top ten US universities by available national rankings.

JHU offers different courses related to environmental or sustainability issues. Courses offered in many Homewood departments cover topics related to the environment, with focuses ranging from policy and public health to climate change. The Sustainability Initiative has compiled this preliminary list to aid students and academic advisors in their search for excellent courses that fit the students' interests.

At JHU there are many opportunities to gain experience in the sustainability field through internships, fellowships, and full and part-time employment. Below are listings of current openings and a resource list of environmental organizations and agencies that may have opportunities in the future. As an example, some current employment opportunities are: Clean Energy Program Manager at Maryland Energy Administration, Environmental Fellowship at Environment Maryland, Senior Program Associate at The Alliance to Save Energy

FSR

The Florence School of Regulation (FSR), a partnership between the European University Institute, EUI (through its Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies – RSCAS), and the Council of European Energy Regulators, CEER, works closely with the European Commission.

Its objectives include promoting the informed discussion of key issues; providing state-of-the-art training for practitioners; and conducting analytical studies in the field of regulation. It is a European forum dedicated to economic regulation.

At this time, it focuses primarily on energy, and more specifically on electricity and gas market regulation, and has also begun to work on the regulation of the transport, telecommunications and finance sectors. Its activities include workshops, training programmes and research on an evolving agenda. FSR intends to address other regulated industries in due course.

CEER is a not-for-profit association in which Europe's independent national electricity and gas regulators voluntarily cooperate to protect consumer interests and further the creation of a single, competitive, efficient and sustainable internal market for gas and electricity in Europe. CEER acts as a preparatory body for the European Regulators' Group for Electricity and Gas (ERGEG). The European Commission's formal advisory group of energy regulators, ERGEG, was created by the European Commission in November 2003 to assist it in generating a single-EU electricity and gas market. ERGEG's members are the heads of the national energy regulatory authorities in the 27 EU Member States.