In an increasingly globalised and knowledge-based economy, Europe is in need of a well-skilled workforce to compete in terms of productivity, quality, and innovation. Education and training systems in Europe continue to fall short in providing the right skills for employability and do not work adequately with business or employers to bring the learning experience closer to the reality of the working environment. The development of smart grids and renewable technologies combined with lower costs to install renewable energy capacity has made distributed generation particularly affordable leading to a transitional movement towards a “smarter” grid. There is a series of demands and needs of the Smart Grid economy of the future that need to be met. The project “MOST” (Master educatiOn Smart Technology) focuses on developing advanced master’s education based on Smart Grid technology to facilitate the emergence of a highly specialized and flexible skilled workforce. “MOST” aims to provide a targeted course covering all aspects of smart grid integration (energy market & policy, smart grid models, modern technologies in the power sector etc.), the core elements and fundamentals towards smart grid operation, using innovative (ICT) methods and best practices. The Master’s will not only give students access to the full spectrum of the smart power ecosystem but will offer the necessary skills that will increase their future employability. The course will not only offer the theoretical technical knowledge about smart grids but also the necessary practical training and experiences they need through digital tools. The outputs of the project and particularly the development of the Living Lab (LL) and Virtual Smart Grid (VSGlab) lab are in line with the priority of supporting the use of digital technologies. Through the project a new learning experience will be offered to those interested to specialize on Smart Grid and Technology, providing a better and well-rounded education on this subject and bridging the gap between education and work. Project activities: 1. Development of high-quality didactic content on Smart Grid technology for higher education. 2. Development of living labs in HEIs. 3. Development of virtual learning environment through the VSGlab. 4. Pilot testing of the course & refinement. 5. Awareness raising of the job prospects offered within the renewable energy sector in the Smart Power market. 6. Increase of awareness and promotion of Smart Grid technology. The project results focus mainly on the development of adaptive and targeted graduate course on Smart Grid technology, integrating Living Lab work and a common Virtual Learning Platform, which will facilitate the preparation of a skilled workforce to work in the Smart Power market. The project brings together experts in the field from both the academia and the broader socio-economic environment consisting of HEIs with extensive experience in the field of PV and Smart Grids from France, Cyprus, Italy, Greece, and Germany and expert companies from Cyprus and Germany with high level experience in engineering, research, training capacity, financial advisory and dissemination projects in this sector. The impact of the project is anticipated to be large and multi-dimensional. HEIs will be able to incorporate the newly developed Master’s Course in their existing curricula, awarding students with ECTS credits, thus enriching the existing curriculum. They will be able to attract more students as they will be given new learning opportunities and experiences and satisfy the needs of the relevant industry calling for deeper knowledge of a wide range of aspects of smart grid integration using innovative methods. HEIs will establish closer links with the relevant stakeholders, provide opportunities for closer interaction and satisfy the needs for quality education and learning. They will receive worldwide recognition by academia and the industry as institutions with a focus on Smart Grids and will be in a better position to adjust and update the course as technologies mature. Longer term, improved visibility and recognition for these institutions offering such a high quality, innovative course and through open access of the material, improving university ranking. Improvement, innovation and modernization of education in the countries involved and beyond the partnership, since the deliverables will be openly available to any HEI interested in incorporating it into their offering. Stronger relations will be formed with economic actors in the PV, the power market and the wider business world and PV enterprises will be able to recruit better equipped professionals. “MOST” contributes positively to EU benchmarks for 2020 in relation to education, as well as the relevant energy and environment objectives set out by Europe.
The project "MOST" (Master educatiOn Smart Technology) focuses on developing advanced master's education based on Smart Grid technology using innovative digital methods and best practices to facilitate the emergence of a highly specialised and flexible skilled workforce. The MOST project changed the didactical offer in Cyprus, Greece, and Italy. Indeed, three partner institutions (UNICA, UOWM, and UCY) validated MOST master's program following the national laws and legislations and approved to start the master's course from the academic year 2022/23 as a joint master's degree recognised by the three countries. Thus, the main project objective at the time of application has been fully accomplished. Furthermore, it was worth mentioning that UCY, UNICA, and UOWM, with WIP, MINES, and DELOITTE as associated partners, applied to the Erasmus Mundus EMJM call 2022 to guarantee long term sustainability to the master and allow students to benefit from international mobility. The new master's degree MOST has been completely developed. The master (90 ECTS) has three semesters and three curricula for different specialisations. Semester 1 at the University of Western Macedonia (UOWM) gives a common cultural foreground to students who will be selected intentionally with diverse backgrounds to exalt Smart Grid multidisciplinarity. Semester 2 offers three different specialisations that students can choose from: - Smart grid Development at the University of Cagliari (UNICA). - Operation and control of Smart Grids and local energy networks at UOWM. - Customer's Market Opportunities, at the University of Cyprus (UCY). Finally, Semester 3 is for the stage in a company (mandatory, 300 hours minimum) and the Thesis preparation and dissertation. Semester 3 is crucial to maintaining a strong relationship with industries and increasing job opportunities. The lectures are compulsory or elective. Elective modules weigh 10 ECTS on 60 ECTS of didactic activities to not jeopardise the logic behind each curriculum. The didactic material has been prepared by an international team of experienced instructors with a solid academic and research background enriched by experience in Smart Grid projects in partnership with industrial partners. All material is on the Moodle e-learning platform developed by the lead partner UNICA. Three pilot courses were followed by UNICA, UCY and UOWM students that obtained the relevant ECTS fully recognised by the academic institutions. The Living Labs are an essential part of the MOST's didactical offer to increase the students' hands-on experience. MOST prepared the environment where students' hands-on experience can be achieved in the Campus Living Labs of partner institutions. A complete list of activities that students can perform has been prepared and published in the relevant deliverable. Two new Living Labs were built in UNICA and the University of Ulm during the pandemic crisis and the project. The Virtual Smart Grid Labs, the virtualisation of tests and experiments based on field data, are a MOST distinctive feature. The VGSLabs developed by all partners use digital twins of existing infrastructures or specific digital models to increase the virtual experience on Smart Grid and allow students to familiarise themselves with typical problems related to techno-economic analysis, distribution planning and system design. UCY coordinated the activities and edited a booklet of VSGLabs that is one of MOST deliverables together with the VSGLabs. Students can use VSGLabs with the UCY dedicated server. MOST main results are: I) complete a master's degree on Smart Grid ready to be offered; II) plan the use of Living Labs for increasing the students' hands-on experience with a list of experiments; III) offer VSGLabs to study the Smart Grid more innovatively. The internal quality process assures the production of high-quality material and can continuously check the validity of contents concerning the state-of-the-art. The Pandemic heavily affected the dissemination activity, and the work plan was adapted accordingly. Since 2020 virtual events have substituted physical events and meetings. A video telling MOST in a simplified manner but attractive has been realised by a professional team coordinated by WIP. The video, a new output of the master, is now on social media and uploaded in the Erasmus+ Project Results platform. Furthermore, the project website and the Moodle platform have been enriched with new material and one animation. All partners faced the criticalities caused by the pandemic crisis by allocating more human resources to IOs. UNICA approved the budget reallocation allowed by the amendment to the contract. In charge of the new social media activities and video productions, WIP used a significant part of budget reallocation to cover the related costs.