• New Cardiff University course to tackle climate change

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      espadmin

Bright young engineering and scientific minds are to tackle the world’s growing energy crisis through a new post-graduate degree course at IFRF Member Organisation, Cardiff University. A significant body of evidence now links climate change to worldwide energy consumption, particularly the use of fossil fuels for heat, electricity and transport. Traditional fuel supplies are increasingly vulnerable to population growth and political disputes, as demonstrated by the Russian gas pipeline controversy last winter. However many alternative power sources, such as nuclear and renewable energy, still present moral, financial or technical challenges.

This autumn, Cardiff University launches a new Masters course which will encourage graduates to think across traditional subject boundaries, developing the future skills base to enable society to address  these far-reaching problems. It draws upon two disciplines where Cardiff  recently has been rated top in the UK (Mechanical Engineering and Architecture). The new course includes topics such as cleaner transport systems, sustainable buildings, ‘smart’ electricity distribution systems, ‘clean’ coal technology and the potential of wind, biomass and the oceans as energy sources. Students will undertake individual research projects in their final term, usually with an industrial sponsor.

The MSc in Sustainable Energy and Environment will be directed from the University’s School of Engineering, with partners the Schools of Architecture and Earth, Ocean and Planetary Science. It is open to people with a good first degree in engineering or science or appropriate professional experience. The School of Engineering has also been appointed to run concurrently a major EU ‘Marie Curie’ training programme for researchers in this field, with 8 other EU partners.

Professor Phil Bowen, Chair in Energy Systems at Cardiff University states: “Following the BBC’s Climate Chaos series and with the UK Government’s own Energy Review due to be published shortly, awareness of energy and environmental issues has probably never been higher”.

“It is clear that a cross-disciplinary international approach is needed to develop long-term solutions to these problems, and we know there is a shortage of professionals looming in several areas of this vital field. The new MSc is designed to help create a new generation of energy specialists who can contribute towards addressing these very challenging problems.”

For further information contact Phil Bowen on BowenPJ@cardiff.ac.uk