New electrical engineering courses address industry's major competence needs

Vehicle manufacturers, electric energy producers, electricity distributors, technology companies, and many other stakeholders face an urgent need for new expertise in electrical engineering. Demand is rapidly increasing as the vehicle fleet becomes electrified. At the same time, major challenges are anticipated for the energy system as electricity demand rises sharply, non-dispatchable electricity production expands, and electricity needs to be distributed over increasingly longer distances.

“Today’s shortage of expertise in electrical engineering is slowing development. The ongoing technology transition across several areas means that many engineers need to build new and deeper knowledge,” says Boel Ekergård, Associate professor and research leader at University West.

“University West and several other institutions are now working intensively to address the competence need with new programs and courses tailored for working engineers.”

Theory and Practice

In a newly launched educational initiative funded by the Knowledge Foundation, University West and Uppsala University will develop around twenty advanced-level courses for working engineers. The course offerings will be broad to match the industry's extensive need for both theoretical depth and applied knowledge for future electrification. A significant portion of the courses will be offered at both University West and Uppsala University.

“In January 2024, the first round of courses will start, allowing working engineers to deepen their knowledge while continuing their regular work. At the same time, University West will also launch a new master’s program in electrical engineering, which will include several of these courses,” says Boel Ekergård, who is the project leader for the educational initiative.

Companies Participate in Development

The courses are being developed in close collaboration with twelve companies from various industries: Atlas Copco, GKN Aerospace, Hitachi, Intel, Polestar, Svenska kraftnät, T-Engineering, Vattenfall, Alstom, Swedish Electromobility Centre, Sandvik, and StandUp for Energy.

“The companies are involved in the entire development process to ensure that the course content matches the industry’s needs effectively. Our industry partners will also contribute with guest lectures, site visits, lab work, collaboration on theses, and in many other ways.”

A key aspect of the development work is designing the courses' scope and format to ensure they can be combined with engineers' regular work.

“University West has extensive experience in developing short courses for professionals. We also have established methods for validating real competence in industry professionals.

“Developing this educational package together with Uppsala University is a significant advantage. We complement each other well. Uppsala University has a strong theoretical foundation, and we have long experience in applied research and education.”

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The educational project "Electrification for a Sustainable Energy System" is funded by the Knowledge Foundation with nearly 27 million SEK and runs over five years. There are also plans to establish a corporate research school focusing on the challenges of electrification in electrical engineering in the future.

The course offerings are planned to cover the following knowledge areas:

Electrical drivelines. Energy storage. Power electronics. Control in electric vehicles. Measurement systems. Electronics. Charging. Electricity production. Stability in the power grid. Electrical machines free from rare earth metals. Sustainability concerning materials and production of electric vehicles. Control systems for electric vehicles
Electrical solutions for control systems. Analysis and design with respect to electromagnetic compatibility. Electric vehicles. 

PUBLISHED  20230530