Intensive, practical and full of excitement: Master's degree program in Electric Power Systems

Prof. Westermann, at the Thuringian Energy Research Institute (ThEFI), around 100 TU Ilmenau researchers are developing and optimizing technologies and concepts for the energy transition. They research energy systems of all sizes from a wide variety of perspectives - from switches to transmission grids and from low voltage to high voltage. In addition to Bachelor's degree programs in Electrical Engineering or Physics, two Master's degree programs deal specifically with electrical power systems, including the Electric Power Systems program. What topics are the focus here?

Dirk Westermann: In contrast to the basic-technology and physics-driven Master's program in Renewable Energy Technology, which focuses on the production of renewable energy technology, our program deals specifically with electrical energy systems. We look at the entire energy system, i.e. the entire process from the conversion of electrical energy to its consumption - from different engineering perspectives.

What exactly can students learn and research in the process?

Dirk Westermann: It's a colorful array of things: the infrastructure system and the grid with the associated automation technology, but also the software and components that are needed to build such a grid. Students not only learn about the latest technological developments in energy and automation technology, but also, for example, about the latest automation methods and optimization processes. In other words, they develop answers to the questions: How can I represent operating processes? How can I design automation solutions? And how can I implement this in practice in terms of IT? Information technology plays a major role and we always have the entire system in mind.

Mr. Grünberg, what motivated you to apply for the Electric Power Systems course?

Jannes Grünberg: Where I grew up, in Schleswig-Holstein, you are practically surrounded by wind turbines. There are around 70 to 80 wind turbines around our village alone. As wind turbines always fascinated me, I came up with the idea of studying energy technology related to wind energy. That's why I first started a Bachelor's degree in this field in Flensburg.

What exactly made you decide to move from Flensburg to Ilmenau for a Master's degree?

Jannes Grünberg: In my Bachelor's program, I mainly dealt with the components required for renewable energy technology. I then worked for two years as an engineer in the field of renewable energies and took care of the certification of systems: all systems that are connected to the grid have to be tested beforehand to ensure that they meet the requirements. I had always planned to continue my studies, but the practical experience changed my perspective and I wanted to see the bigger picture after my very specialized bachelor's degree. When I looked for a place to continue my studies in 2021, I was impressed by the diverse module plan at TU Ilmenau.

What other criteria were decisive for you?

Jannes Grünberg: The nice thing for me here was the freedom of choice: I can specialize in my areas of focus and don't have to repeat the basics of electrical engineering first. I was also convinced by the fact that Ilmenau is a small university with close proximity to the lecturers. I didn't want a degree course where you're just one of hundreds, but one where you really engage in discourse with lecturers and gain deeper insights into research.

Dirk Westermann: This means that Jannes Grünberg corresponds exactly to the target group that we are addressing with the course. When we introduced the program ten years ago, we could already see that we would not be able to meet the demand for specialists in this field with electrical engineering students alone. That's why we have set up the program very broadly, with maximum freedom of choice and a lot of learning-by-doing - and specifically addressed energy topics.

What exactly does this learning-by-doing look like?

Dirk Westermann: From day one, we integrate our students into research projects, offer them student assistant contracts and prepare them for starting a career or even a doctorate in two years. In this way, we also teach the methods and the feeling you need to work as a scientist during your studies. In terms of prior experience, we explicitly target all types of universities.

Nadja Belz: That's exactly what we staff members enjoy so much: we can both teach the students something and learn something ourselves through the intensive supervision. We make individual communication possible and always try to be available for our students. Some need very clear targets. Others can work very independently. We focus entirely on the needs of the students.

Jannes Grünberg: The good thing is that the courses not only give you access to Prof. Westermann, but also to the academic staff. From the very beginning, you have contact persons who you can ask directly in the lecture, go to the office or write an e-mail to. In terms of support, this is really ideal.

Nadja Belz: We also try to involve the students in the day-to-day life of our research group. Whether it's going to the canteen together or inviting the student assistants to social events at the department, such as hiking days or Christmas parties, to create a team spirit.

The course is also characterized by particularly innovative forms of teaching and learning. What kind of formats do you offer?

Dirk Westermann: Some of them are very simple: For example, we don't do 15 hours of frontal teaching in the basic lecture in the fifth semester. Instead, the students have to answer a research question and give a presentation. In this way, they learn how to present an issue in a meaningful way. In another course, we explain to them how universities work and what scientists do. As part of a hackathon, they also learn how they can quickly generate and exploit innovations in a structured way. They then have to write a project proposal and project plan for a funding body - all things that a Master of Science should be able to do. Design Thinking, which we teach, is also part of the standard skills set of a Master's graduate from a very good university. Overall, we try to keep frontal teaching to a minimum in favor of practical things like software projects.

Nadja Belz: In the foundation course, for example, students can also receive bonus points if they answer a scientific question. Last semester, this involved using Chat GPT to answer research questions. These and similar highly topical issues are always addressed in our courses. After all, they are the future and students have to deal with them.

Mr. Grünberg, what topics are you currently studying?

Jannes Grünberg: I'm currently writing my Master's thesis in the SPANNeND project, in which we are looking at the question of how to further optimize and better utilize the grids in the context of the energy transition so that more power can be transmitted and fewer systems have to be switched off. I can contribute the knowledge I gained during my time as a student assistant and don't have to start from scratch.

Dirk Westermann: That is precisely the advantage for our students: They can work on projects right from the start of their studies - from an assistant activity to a seminar paper or innovation project to a Master's thesis, which is then often even followed by a doctoral phase thematically. This means you are fully involved in the topic and can actively help shape the energy transition and the decarbonization of our society while you are still studying.

Are you also actively involved in this topic alongside your studies?

Jannes Grünberg: Yes, in addition to my student assistant job, I also continue to work as a project engineer for my former employer with a reduced number of hours. Also, I have actually already found a new job with a grid operator in Brandenburg which I will start right after finishing my studies.

Together with students from other disciplines such as Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering or Computer Science, I am also involved in the VDE University Group Ilmenau of the Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies. Together we organize specialist lectures on a voluntary basis, plan excursions to companies or go to trade fairs. It's very varied. I've never seen such an active club life before: You arrive in Ilmenau and you can see from the very first day that everyone is doing something and is socially organized and committed. You can simply look for a club on a topic that you enjoy and help to develop campus life. This is something that distinguishes the TU Ilmenau and is quite unique.

More information about the Master's degree program in Electric Power Systems

About the Power Systems Group