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Energy Systems and Thermal Processes MSc
Advance your Energy career
Rational and economic use of energy, with the least damage to the environment, is vital for the future of our planet. Established in 1972, The Energy Systems and Thermal Processes MSc remains the most prestigious degree in technical energy management in the UK. Accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, it will equip you with the state of the art technical knowledge and skills required to help achieve energy efficiency and reduce environmental pollution. Closely aligned with industry - with real world case studies and research projects at its core - this course will enable you to develop a successful and rewarding career as an environmentally aware energy professional.Overview
- Start dateFull-time: October. Part-time: October
- DurationOne year full-time, two-three years part-time.
- DeliveryTaught modules 40%, Group projects 20%, Individual project 40%
- QualificationMSc, PgDip, PgCert
- Study typeFull-time / Part-time
- CampusCranfield campus
Who is it for?
This course is designed for engineering graduates or practicing engineers who wish to develop a successful career as an environmentally aware energy professional.
The course will equip you with knowledge that can be directly applied to help various sectors improve competitiveness in the face of dwindling resources, probable substantial increases in energy costs and the urgent requirement to comply with the increasingly restrictive pollution control standards.
Your career
There is a considerable demand for environmentally aware energy specialists with in-depth technical knowledge combined with practical and management skills. At Cranfield, our focus is on an industry-led education, which makes our graduates some of the most desirable in the world for recruitment by companies and organisations competing in the energy sector.
Graduates of the course have been successful in gaining employment in energy, environmental and engineering consultancies and design practices, research organisations and government departments or go on to further research studies.
Successful graduates of this course have gone onto work in a range of roles, including:
Business Development Manager, Research Associate, Project Manager, Senior Project Engineer, Solutions Development Engineer, Operational Planning Engineer, Customer Application Engineer; Battery Test Deliver Engineer, Process & Project Engineer, Junior Project Engineer, Product Manager, PhD Researcher, Engineering Graduate.
Within prestigious institutions including:
Alstom Power, British Gas, BELECTRIC UK, Blue Circle Cement, Centrica, Coca Cola, Ceylon Electricity Board, Danfoss, DELPHI Automotive Systems, ENGIE Laborelec, Mexico, Electrolux, Denmark, Energy Saving Trust, Environmental Agency, Honeywell, Jaguar Land Rover, London Business School, Ministry of Energy (Botswana, Jordan, Tanzania, Uganda), Powergen, Petrofac, Scottish Power, Transport for London and Unilever.
Cranfield Careers Service
Cranfield’s Career Service is dedicated to helping you meet your career aspirations. You will have access to career coaching and advice, CV development, interview practice, access to hundreds of available jobs via our Symplicity platform and opportunities to meet recruiting employers at our careers fairs. We will also work with you to identify suitable opportunities and support you in the job application process for up to three years after graduation.
Why this course?
Rational and economic use of energy, with the least damage to the environment, is vital for the future of our planet. The MSc in Energy Systems and Thermal Processes has evolved over the past 40 years from ongoing discussions with industrial experts, employers, sponsors and previous students.
The ethos of the course is to provide you with the professional skills you will need to develop a successful career improving the management of energy, designing energy-efficient systems and processes, utilising of renewable energy sources and the reducing and controlling pollution cost effectively.
- Access world-class pilot scale facilities that are unique to the UK higher education sector.
- Study modules including Thermal Energy Systems, Heat Transfer, Thermal Systems Operation and Design and Applied Thermal Systems.
- Develop your technology leadership capabilities with the world renowned Cranfield School of Management.
- Participate in individual and group projects focused on your personal interests and career aspirations – with many supported by industry.
- Learn from lecturers with extensive, current experience of working with industry on solving real world mechanical engineering challenges.
- Benefit from our extensive industry links and alumni community, to develop your network and advance your career.
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"Cranfield University is world renowned for its facilities and development of new technologies. I'm a Nigerian, and a scholar of Petroleum Technology Development Funds (PTDF). Back in my country we are trying to integrate new technologies into existing plants, to provide alternative solutions to the flaring of natural gas. Two months into my course I have already learned so much, and can see possibilities of how to achieve both my own goals around climate change, and make improvements back home in Nigeria.”
Chukwuemeka Nwanyanwu, current student, Energy Systems and Thermal Processes MSc
Informed by Industry
The Energy Systems and Thermal Processes MSc is closely aligned with industry to ensure that you are fully prepared for your career
- Close engagement with the energy sector over the last 20 years has produced long standing strategic partnerships with a wide range of prominent organisations including Alstom Power, BP, Cummins Power Generation, Doosan Babcock, E.ON, npower, Rolls Royce, Shell, Siemens and Total.
- Knowledge gained working with our industrial clients is continually fed back into the teaching programme to ensure that you benefit from the very latest knowledge and techniques affecting industry.
- We have a world-class reputation for industrial-scale research facilities and pilot-scale demonstration programmes in the energy area.
- Our strategic links with industry ensure everything taught on the course is relevant, timely and meet the needs of organisations competing within the energy sector, making our graduates some of the most desirable in the world.
- The course is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, ensuring professional recognition and relevance to employers, accredits the course.
Course details
The taught programme is delivered from October to February and is comprised of eight modules.
There are five one-week modules that are mostly delivered in the early part of the year and cover the essential information to complete the degree. These are intensive weeks with lectures typically all day. During this period, there are some weeks without modules, and these are largely free of structured teaching to allow time for more independent learning and reflection, completion of assignments or exam preparation.
There are three two-week modules that take place later in the academic year and involve more active problem-based learning and typically include practical or laboratory sessions, case studies or group work. These are an opportunity for you to apply and integrate your knowledge. These modules are all assessed by assignments that are completed during the two-week period. The focus on group work and application within these modules provides a valuable transition into the Group Project.
Course delivery
Taught modules 40%, Group projects 20%, Individual project 40%
Group project
The group project, undertaken between February and April, enables you to put the skills and knowledge developed during the taught modules into practice in an applied context, while gaining transferable skills in project management, teamwork and independent research. Projects are often supported by industry and potential future employers value this experience. The group project is normally multidisciplinary and shared across the Energy MSc programme, giving the added benefit of working with students with other backgrounds.
Each group is given an industrially relevant problem to solve. During the project you will develop a range of skills including learning how to establish team member roles and responsibilities, project management, and delivering technical presentations. At the end of the project, all groups submit a written report and deliver a poster presentation to industry partners. This presentation provides the opportunity to develop presentation skills and effectively handle questions about complex issues in a professional manner.
Part-time students are encouraged to participate in a group project as it provides a wealth of learning opportunities. However, an option of an individual dissertation is available if agreed with the Course Director.
Recent group projects include:
- Preliminary design of an offshore floating wind turbine
- Multi-disciplinary design of an high speed marine vehicle with aerodynamic surfaces
- Design optimisation of the drive train for a vertical axis wind turbine.
- Design specification of pilot scale 142 kWth air/rock
- Thermodynamic modelling of using Ca-based sorbents for heavy metal emission control during contaminated biomass combustion
- Direct Air Capture Technologies for Greenhouse Gas Removal GGR
Individual project
The individual research project allows you to delve deeper into a specific area of interest. As our academic research is so closely related to industry, it is common for our industrial partners to put forward real practical problems or areas of development as potential research topics. The individual research project component takes place between April and August.
For part-time students, it is common that their research project is undertaken in collaboration with their place of work.
Research projects will involve designs, computer simulations, techno-economic, feasibility assessments, reviews, practical evaluations and experimental investigations.
Typical areas of research include:
- Techno-economic feasibility assessment of clean energy systems
- Modelling of energy-conversion systems and thermal processes
- Renewable energy utilisation schemes
- Control of environmental pollution
- Combustion and heat transfer processes.
- Feasibility study for a mini hydropower plant in Peru
- Evaluation of flexible layouts of coal-fired power plant with calcium looping
- Feasibility assessment of Installing photovoltaic systems in a house in Alicante, Spain
- Biomass gasification plants for decentralised small scale rural electrification in Northern Ghana: Assessing the economic viability of its utilisation
- Investigation of jet pump performance under multiphase flow conditions.
Modules
Keeping our courses up-to-date and current requires constant innovation and change. The modules we offer reflect the needs of business and industry and the research interests of our staff and, as a result, may change or be withdrawn due to research developments, legislation changes or for a variety of other reasons. Changes may also be designed to improve the student learning experience or to respond to feedback from students, external examiners, accreditation bodies and industrial advisory panels.
To give you a taster, we have listed the compulsory and elective (where applicable) modules which are currently affiliated with this course. All modules are indicative only, and may be subject to change for your year of entry.
Course modules
Compulsory modules
All the modules in the following list need to be taken as part of this course
Heat Transfer
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On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
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Thermal Energy Systems
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On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
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Thermal Systems Operation and Design
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Heat exchanger Design and Operation Waste Heat Recovery and Thermal Storage Refrigeration and Air Conditioning |
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On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
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Computational Fluid Dynamics for Industrial Processes
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On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
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Applied Thermal Energy Systems
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This module provides an in-depth applied knowledge for different thermal energy systems to help spur the next industrial revolution for improving efficiency, reducing water consumption and efficient way of utilising waste heat streams. Students will also learn how to develop these integrated schemes and play an important role in thermodynamic modelling, data collection, analysis, and prediction of the performance and control of these advanced/applied thermal systems. |
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On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
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Management for Technology
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On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
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Process Design and Simulation
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Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
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Advanced Control Systems
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Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
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Teaching team
You will be taught by our multidisciplinary team of leading technology experts including: Dr Kumar Patchigolla – Sr. Lecturer in Low Carbon Energy Systems. (Course Director for MSc in Energy Systems and Thermal Processes) Our teaching team work closely with business and have academic and industrial experience. The course also includes inputs from industry that will relate the theory to current best practice.
How to apply
Online application form. UK students are normally expected to attend an interview and financial support is best discussed at this time. Overseas and EU students may be interviewed by telephone.