The Integration of Renewable Energies and Energy Static Converters Courses for Energy Engineering Students in the Framework of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA)

Abstract

As it is well known, the Bologna Process is a voluntary intergovernmental European cooperation initiative that led to the creation of the named European Higher Education Area (EHEA). EHEA was formed to promote mobility, increase academic recognition and attract students and staff from around the world to Europe. On the other hand, since September 2016, the Technical University of Catalonia - BarcelonaTech (UPC) has a new Campus, the Diagonal-Besòs Campus. In this new Campus appears the Eastern Barcelona School of Engineering (Escuela de Ingeniería de Barcelona Este - EEBE), with new Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees. In this framework, also since September 2016, the EEBE is offering the new 4-year Bachelor’s Degree in Energy Engineering with a total number of ECTS credits of 240. Current article deals with the inclusion of the sizing and design of renewable energy systems and energy static conversion systems in the context of this degree. In particular, and although this topic was eventually abandoned in the initial degree curriculum, the paper presents the development of a 3rd-year course, Energy Static Converters, and, especially, a 4th-year course, Renewable Energies, that focuses on these two topics.