IRS

One of the notable initiatives of this Campus of Excellence is the International Research School (IRS) for Energy, the Environment and Smart Infrastructures.The aim of the IRS is to develop postgraduate studies of excellence focused on industry needs through the following initiatives: The development of a proposal for a URJC and UAH interuniversity master, counting on the participation of the different IEC partners in the area of bioenergy and smart infrastructures, for ratification by the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation of Spain (ANECA) and implementation during the 2015/2016 academic year. Additionally and over the longer term, the implementation of a new IEC Industrial Postgraduate Programme, for both researchers in the business domain and postgraduates specialised in “innovative” energy issues.

These educational programmes are designed and organised by several IEC partner institutions (the URJC and the UAH, as university institutions, and IMDEA Energía and CIEMAT as research organisations), and form one of the strong points of an ambitious proposal. In fact, the IEC Smart Energy focuses a large part of its future activity in the International Research School, in terms of both education and research.

Under the umbrella of the URJC and UHA , International Postgraduate Schools, the IRS has developed a range of specialised university Master courses, involving the IEC members. ANECA has officially ratified those university Master courses.

Additionally, because of a collaboration agreement between the UAH and URJC Postgraduate Schools within the “Smart Energy” International Excellence Campus framework, the University of Alcalá offers cross disciplinary educational activities to postgraduate students, which are regulated under RD99/2011 of the URJC.

In order to continue the R+D actions initiated in the bioenergy and smart infrastructures fields within the framework of the IEC International Research School (IRS), an agreement has been signed by the URJC International Postgraduate School (Director: José Maria Iriondo) and the UAH International Postgraduate School (Director: Alberto Lázaro), stating that the Postgraduate Schools in each university will support the IEC International Research School by offering Clean Energies and Smart Cities educational programmes. The main aim is to coordinate the Research and Development programmes in the IEC areas of focus, designing and developing Postgraduate Courses of excellence focused on industry needs with the support of IEC associated companies.

These actions are already under way, with a recent agreement to establish an interuniversity master between both universities in the area of “Smart Energy”, with involvement from IMDEA Energía and CIEMAT. These actions will continue to be developed through IEC Executive Committee agreements, which will be transferred to the universities and the other IEC partners. Over the longer term, a new IEC Industrial Postgraduate Programme is going to be established within the IEC “Smart Energy” fields of interest for both researchers in the business domain and postgraduates specialised in “innovative” energy issues.

Another IRS related item involves a new Own degree in Energy Efficiency having been approved for the 2014 -2015 academic year, given by lecturers from the URJC and the UAH, with involvement from important companies in the sector (Schneider Electric, AENOR, and Philips Lighting). Additionally, the first URJC-UAH workshop has been arranged for 13th April 2015, as part of the cross-disciplinary educational activities of the Doctorate Programmes, which will be opened by the Rectors from both institutions.

Master in Low CO2 Emission Energy Technologies, given by the URJC in conjunction with IMDEA Energía and CIEMAT.

The URJC and IMDEA Energía combined to develop this Master, which was recently proposed by the URJC and approved by ANECA in July 2013. It is expected to be available for the 2015 – 2016 academic year. This two year Master (90 credits) is a multidisciplinary course for students, with a specific focus on two areas: effective energy management in companies in different sectors, and the use of alternative energy sources that can reduce energy dependency and polluting emissions associated with energy systems. As such, the Master aims to provide knowledge and skills in energy issues to future graduates with a scientific-technical leaning, as well as technical engineers, advanced engineers, and graduates in the scientific-technical domain. It is hoped this Master will somewhat alleviate the increasing demand for professionals specialised in energy engineering.

The Master mainly covers energy efficiency issues, energy production technologies with particular emphasis on new renewable energy sources, energy storage systems, energy transport and distribution, and energy markets, all approached from an environmental and sustainable growth point of view. Lecturers and researchers from the URJC and IMDEA Energía Environmental and Chemical Engineering Group (GIQA) collaborate on the Master, in accordance with the agreement established between both institutions. It is worth noting that URJC and IMDEA Energía have been collaborating on shared solar concentration technologies and thermochemical processes for hydrogen production projects for a number of years.

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Interuniversity Master in Geographical Information Technology, taught by the UAH and URJC

The main objective of the Interuniversity Master in Geographical Information Technology, given jointly by the University of Alcalá and King Juan Carlos University, is to integrate students’ multidisciplinary knowledge relating to Geographical Information Technologies (GIT). This master was created due to the still limited educational offering in this field in our country, despite the great social demand for well-educated professionals in these areas.

The applied contents of the master include: environmental planning and the sustainable use of natural resources; natural disaster prevention and management; the evaluation, monitoring, modelling, and simulation of dynamic processes (forest fires, land use changes, urban spread, processes of change in rural areas), and the spatial assessment and planning of infrastructures and installations that are able to be planned (public installations, open spaces, public transport, landfill sites and other undesirable installations, etc.).

The master is coordinated by the UAH Geography department, which has a quality Postgraduate programme in these areas, as well as extensive teaching and research experience. Other departments of the University of Alcalá with notable research experience in the areas of the programme are involved, such as the Mathematics Department (mapping engineering, geodesy, and photogrammetry), the Architecture Department (Architecture graphic design), and the Geology Department, as well as the URJC Departments of Biology and Geology, which are experts in using these technologies. Other departments from the UNED, the Madrid Polytechnic University, and the Complutense University are also involved, as well as some researchers from the University of Curtin (Australia) and University of California (Davis).

The master also involves agreements with over 30 companies for professional practical experience included in the study programme. Technological centres that use and develop these technologies are also involved, such as the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), attached to the Ministry of Defence, the Spanish Institute of Geology and Mining, attached to the Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness, as well as research centres, such as the CSIC Institute of Economy, Geography, and Demographics (IEGD).

This study programme is aimed at Graduates of Geography, Biology, Geology, Environmental Sciences, Architecture, Civil Engineering, Geomatics and Topographical Engineering, Forestry and Environmental Engineering, Information Technology, Physics, Archaeology, and Mathematics.

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UAH – URJC Interuniversity Postgraduate Programme on Hydrology and Water Resource Management

Fundación IMDEA Agua is also involved in this joint UAH and URJC Interuniversity Postgraduate Programme on Hydrology and Water Resource Management. The aim of the programme is develop postgraduate scientific learning in hydrological disciplines (hydroclimatology, surface water hydrology, hydrogeology, water quality and technology) and water resource management (water usage, resource conservation, social planning and management. One notable part of the Master is dedicated to energy efficiency in water treatment processes.

The lines of research are Water Technology, Quality, and Water Resources Management. The following UAH researchers are involved in the first line of research: Eloy García, Roberto Casal, and Pedro Letón. The URJC researchers for the second line of research are Javier Lillo and Álvaro Márquez.

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URJC-UAH University Specialist in Advanced Efficiency Tools and Energy Management in Organisations  (First edition in January – February 2015). This Own Degree arose out of an institutional alliance between the URJC and the companies, Schneider Electric and Aenor, to develop different IEC activities focused on the energy efficiency field. This Own Degree will involve professionals from the aforementioned institutions, researchers from the UAH, IMDEA Energía, and CIEMAT, as well as collaboration from the company, Philips Lighting. The aim is to train specialists in energy management for organisations, providing them with knowledge of new technologies and energy efficiency techniques, materials, and systems, as well as aspects of energy management. This knowledge will allow them to tackle the challenges involved with energy management in all types of centres.

III Edition of the URJC European Environmental Regulation Specialist. Click here for further information