Polytechnic Universities partner with Terna on innovative power system education
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The Italian Polytechnic Universities of Turin, Milan and Bari have entered a collaboration agreement with Terna Group to pursue research, innovation and higher education for the benefit of the power system.
Through the partnership, the High Skills Polytechnic Network was presented in Rome, which the partners describe as a close synergy between the skills of the Italian national electricity grid operator and those of each Polytechnic University for the purposes of research, innovation and higher education.
Commenting in a release was Stefano Paolo Corgnati, rector of the Polytechnic University of Turin:
“The energy transition must be tackled both strategically and tactically, requiring investments not only in infrastructure but also in training and skills development, as there are many scientific, technological and regulatory aspects to the challenge.
“Therefore, technological universities like the Polytechnics can and must make themselves available to the community in order to create specific, wide-ranging skills through synergistic networks as a catalyst to speed up progress towards this transition. For us, this is an excellent opportunity for a highly qualified collaboration that centres higher education, with close links to research activities for our Institution, in this case in service of the nation’s electricity system”.
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A Master’s in electricity for energy innovation
Under the collaboration, the first Level II Master’s Degree in ‘Innovation in Electricity Systems for Energy’ will begin during the 2025-2026 academic year.
The course has been established to nurture specialised skills for the electricity sector, training qualified professionals suitable for Terna’s recruitment and hiring processes.
Specifically, says Terna, the Master’s degree will produce highly specialised profiles in the engineering sector, with the following professional qualifications:
- expertise in systems and technologies
- expertise in asset management
- expertise in electrical power systems
- expertise in markets and regulations.
Each student on the 12-month course will devote a total of 1,500 hours to it, and must acquire 60 University Training Credits. Educational activities will consist of courses on topics in which the Institutions specialise, courses for guidance prepared by Terna, and practical experiences.
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Coordinated by a Steering Committee, the High Skills Polytechnic Network will also involve individual collaboration projects being carried out in the areas of Research and Development, Open Innovation, Education and Training, and Social Impact.
Specifically, they will focus on the following issues:
- the management of zero-carbon, low-inertia electricity systems
- technologies applied to systems operation, planning and strategies
- the protection, automation and control of electricity systems
- interaction between the electricity markets and the system
- new technologies for applications in the operational context
- IT and programming skills
- operational improvement and asset optimisation for grid resilience and efficiency
- digitalisation and sustainability
Said Daniele Amati, head of human resources at Terna: “The collaboration that we’ve announced today confirms the Group’s dedication to continuing its investments in training new skills and abilities that can help bring about the energy and digital twin transition.
“The High Skills Polytechnic Network generates extraordinary synergy and represents an excellent educational opportunity for young people, thanks to the scientific contributions of the Polytechnic Universities of Turin, Milan and Bari.”
As part of the training projects to develop new skills in the energy sector, Terna has also extended the Master’s course in ‘Digitalisation of the electricity system for the energy transition’, promoted by the Group in collaboration with the Universities of Cagliari, Palermo and Salerno as part of the Tyrrhenian Lab project.
With over 150 young people having taken part in the first three programmes, two additional editions are now confirmed, bringing it up to 2027.
