A Message from Head of Energy Systems Engineering

Welcome to the Energy Systems Engineering Programme at NUI Galway, offering the newest four-year Honours Bachelor degree in the College of Engineering. It was established in 2009 as a multidisciplinary programme to address the need for highly-qualified engineers to address some of the greatest challenges faced by society; climate change, energy supply security and energy poverty. Due to the systemic importance of energy across all sectors of the world economy, Energy Systems Engineers at NUI Galway take modules from Civil, Electrical/Electronic and Mechanical Engineering as well as from Computer Science and Information Technology. In addition, specific subjects within Energy Systems Engineering modules are delivered by staff members from Economics, Political Science and Sociology, Chemistry and Microbiology.

For their final two years, Energy Systems Engineers choose a field of engineering specialism; Civil Engineering, in which students study energy supply and demand in the built environment as well as drawing on NUI Galway’s rich history of offshore structural engineering; Electrical/Electronic Engineering, in which students discover how to integrate renewable energy, smart devices, homes and businesses as well as energy storage in web-enabled Smart Grids; or Mechanical Engineering in which students apply fundamental know-how to create the highly-efficiency low-emissions energy conversion technologies of the future. Upon graduation from the Bachelors degree, students can opt to stay for a one-year Masters of Engineering in which they can further focus on their chosen specialism as well as broaden their professional skills.

Many of our students are active in the NUI Galway Energy Society, the largest, most active and most influential student group in the country dedicated to energy. Energy Soc runs a large number of events throughout the year including movie screenings, site visits, guest lectures and trips abroad to energy research centres such as the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. Events culminate with the annual NUIG Energy Night, which is the first and only national energy conference in Ireland run entirely by students. Established in 2011, it has become one of the largest student-run events on campus and attracts speakers and guests from across Ireland.

Energy Systems Engineering draws staff members from Civil, Electrical/Electronic and Mechanical Engineering disciplines and form Computer Science and Information Technology and is based in the state-of-the-art 14,100 sq.m Engineering Building. Research in Energy Systems Engineering spans a wide range of fields including combustion, bioenergy, electric vehicles, high-tech materials for renewable energy, wearable electronic devices, ocean energy, sustainable buildings and cities, and much more. Research staff are aligned with the Ryan Institute for Environment, Marine and Energy and the Energy Research Centre. For further information, please contact Ms. Carmel King on 091-492664 or carmel.king@nuigalway.ie.