Sustainable Energy with Industrial Practice MSc - 2026/7

Other information

The School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering / Sustianble Energy is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This programme is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

Digital Capabilities:
Throughout the programme, students learn to navigate and utilise the Virtual Learning Environment at Surrey (SurreyLearn) and other digital resources and online databases to aid their learning and undertake research. Students are also introduced to and gain proficiency in specific digital tools, such as general modelling software MATLAB, renewables and process systems modelling software (HYSYS and Aspen+), and optimisation modelling software GAMS, which all assist in building their skills to deal with engineering problems, generate, analyse, and present data mainly by means of computer. Students are also encouraged to use current media such as Teams and utilise cloud/file sharing for communication and teamwork. Appropriate use of digital media and communication platforms is increasingly important for engineering practitioners, and through use and discussion, these students gain an awareness of their roles, plus their limitations and misuse, which can have a wider impact (e.g., on digital well-being). In addition, at the end of the placement year, students will be engaged with multiple practical opportunities to develop and think critically about their digital capabilities, their digital presence and identity through online interactions, and their understanding of the digital impacts on their potential careers.

Employability:
The programme is designed to equip students with all the core competencies required for an engineering professional in general and a professional in renewable and sustainable energy systems and industry in particular. Throughout the course, students will encounter real-life examples and problems to be prepared, solved and hence competitive in the job market. They will also be taught by and exposed to a variety of internal and external speakers, exposing students to the variety of specific roles and real-life cases engineers have in the workplace. The tasks and assessments undertaken across the modules are specifically chosen to equip students with knowledge and skills that are key to the role of modern and forward-looking engineers. Key to this, and underpinning everything through this programme, students develop the ability to appraise evidence critically and the appropriate application of this knowledge to specific individuals, groups, or populations, all in the course of development of new products or advancing research in a commercial world. On top of these, students have the option to experience a Professional/Work Placement Year (PPY) in addition to the taught modules to gain a more diverse range of skills and experiences essential to work in sustainable energy systems and industrial workplaces. The placement year in the industry will enable students to gain further practical knowledge and develop additional skills such as being managed, following instructions, reporting, negotiating, presenting, justifying, etc. The programme has developed an overall learning environment to develop our graduates' necessary employability skills.

Global and Cultural Capabilities:
The programme is taught in an interactive and collaborative way in a cohort that commonly represents a wealth of nationalities and backgrounds. Students are encouraged to engage with and learn from diverse perspectives through interaction and teamwork. It is evident that main advances in engineering originate from cross-cultural studies, and differences between ethnic groups are explored and appreciated as key to understanding the interrelationship between various aspects of engineering: research, design, and operation. Students also develop an understanding of inequalities in the commercial world and the underlying causes of differences with an exploration of how the diversity of lived experience and culture can impact processes. Invited speakers contribute to diverse global perspectives on cutting-edge advancement in renewable and sustainable engineering and science as well as global effects. In addition, students will also have the opportunity to engage with the year in industry with all of the active and engaging global and cultural experiences that this inevitably brings to the student experience.

Resourcefulness and Resilience
This programme requires practical problem-solving skills that teach a student how to reason about and solve new unseen problems, starting with a problem scenario and designing and developing a complex and practical solution to the problem. As such, students will have experience in taking an idea from concept through to implementation and evaluation both as an individual and within a group. The Information obtained in the new modules, including Introduction to Renewable Energy, Policy and Economics, The Information obtained in the new modules, including Introduction to Renewable Energy, Policy and Economics, Sustainable Energy Storage, and Smart Energy Systems, is interrelated and closely complements the programme¿s objectives by providing a full picture of the sustainable energy systems from standalone systems design and device manufacture to process design, supply chain management, and market awareness. This programme¿s modules provide the necessary knowledge of analytical tools and approaches used to critically design, analyse, and evaluate efficient and modern energy systems. Furthermore, upon completion of the placement year, students will benefit from a network of professional and career support to become independent and resourceful professionals who are able to appropriately apply confidence, reflection, critical thinking and analysis, and problem-solving skills in their potential roles.

Sustainability:
This is the flag-ship aspect of this programme provided from the introductory modules in renewable up to the advanced knowledge in smart systems, students begin to consider the foundations of sustainable engineering, science, and technology-related knowledge in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The sustainability aspects are directly involved in most of the modules in this programme. Broader aspects relevant to sustainability, including manufacturing processes, energy saving, storage and distribution, retail and impact on global resources and the environment, are topics that are addressed across the programme. Seminars and tutorials give students the opportunity to explore specific topical aspects of sustainability. In particular, students can choose optional modules dealing with current sustainability problems to further master and advance sustainability in the technology sector of their interest through the Dissertation topics and their optional Professional Placement Year. By the end of the programme, it is expected that students will have developed confidence in their ability to tackle societal inequalities and promote inclusive and sustainable practice.