CREST in EHEA celebration
MARCH 2010 marks the establishment of the European Higher Education Area and 10 years of the Bologna Process. To mark this achievement involving the constructive engagemnet and collective decision-making of 46 participating countries across Europe and to highlight notable successes, EHEA produced a celebratory booklet. CREST were proud to be featured as a case study. Read more about the EHEA here.>>
The CREST Case study:
Few areas are better served by the pooling of expertise worldwide than the search for reliable and cost-effective renewable energy sources.
Loughborough University's Centre for Renewable Energy Systems TEchnology (CREST) - based in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering - is one of a network of eight European universities and research centres leading the way in renewable energy , research, development and demonstration.
The three-semester, 15-month course amounts to 90 ECTS and is coordinated by the European Renewable Energy Research Centres Agency (EUREC) a consortium of research centres which has its headquarters in Brussels.
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The programme is designed to produce designers and developers of the next generation of renewable and sustainable energy systems. A common renewable energy core is taught at Loughborough or one of the other three universities in Europe and the second semester is spent at another partner university.
For the final part of the course students carry out a six-month research project, normally a work placement, in Europe or further afield, with academic supervision from the university which provided the core teaching.
Graduates go on to work or carry out research across the globe. One of them, Matthew Clark, is in his first year of a doctorate in Vienna working in concentrator photovoltaics and heading off to Australia for four months to work on his thesis.
"I wanted to work in the filed of renewable energy, but had nothing with which to entice employers other than a bachelor's in mechanical engineering, I knew I that I needed advanced knowledge and something to show for it," he said. "A masters in renewable energy was the right choice. It sets me apart from any other candidate, There is nothing quite like the experience of upending your whole life and moving to another country, It builds strength and character, and teaches you that you can do things you never thought you could. Employers respect this. Last but not least, I had a blast and made some of the most lasting friendships of my life."
For more information about CREST's Masters programme see our Education pages or contact Dr Richard Blanchard.