Short courses as knowledge disseminators in electrical engineering
To meet the industry's significant climate transition and the electrification of society, working engineers across various sectors need to build new skills. Johan Tidholm is one of the participants in University West's new electrical engineering courses. These courses have been developed in collaboration with the industry to address the increased demand for competence.
As the vehicle fleet becomes electrified, the need for new expertise in electrical engineering grows among various stakeholders, such as vehicle manufacturers, energy producers, electricity distributors, and technology companies. 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. University West and Uppsala University are meeting this new competence need with short, specially designed courses of 3–5 ECTS with good distance learning solutions.
Investing in climate-smart technology
Johan Tidholm is a development engineer at SEM—a small company in Åmål that has researched and worked with electromagnets for over a hundred years. Currently, Johan's focus is on developing climate-smart solutions for heavy vehicles, primarily in ignition systems for electric drivetrains. By Easter, he will complete the 5-ECTS course "Electrical Machines Free from Rare Earth Metals."
“It was in connection with our battery initiative that I began to be curious about the new conditions for electrification, and it was around that time that this course appeared at University West,” Johan explains. “It aligns perfectly with both what we are doing today and what we need to learn more about for the future.”
Many of the lectures and some of the lab work have been accessible remotely, but Johan has also made sure to attend in-person sessions, including guest lectures.
“The big advantage of this setup is that I can choose when I am on campus to make the most of the teaching time. Some things are always better in person, while many others are perfectly manageable remotely. It’s this flexibility that makes it possible to combine studies with work so effectively,” says Johan.
Immediately applied new knowledge
Another benefit of continuing to work while studying is how naturally the new knowledge integrates into daily work.
“It made a difference right from the start,” Johan recalls. “I am already using much of what I have learned, and on several levels. I see it as two boosts, really. Firstly, I’ve gained deeper and broader knowledge in pure electrical theory, and secondly, I’ve also viewed familiar concepts from a new perspective, a different application.”
Another important reason for Johan’s interest was the sustainability focus that permeates the course.
“There are plenty of programs focusing solely on performance, but one must think bigger than that. It’s always a potential issue when exotic materials like rare earth metals are involved; it’s expensive and you don’t always know about working conditions in the mines, for example. For our society and working life to be sustainable over time, we must constantly ensure that our development does not come at the expense of other countries or regions,” Johan adds.
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University West and Uppsala University address the industry's competence needs with advanced-level courses tailored for working engineers. The courses have been 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.