News

Masdar Institute to Help Undergraduate Interns Develop Simulations on Dynamics of Power Grid Systems

September 21, 2018

Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, today announced undergraduate interns will be offered an opportunity to develop simulations on the dynamics of power grid systems as part of the internship program this summer.

The project titled ‘MATLAB Simulation Development for Power Grid Systems Simulations’ is part of the internship programs that will be available to UAE national graduates or university seniors. A total of 17 UAE national graduates have been selected for the six-week summer internship program that opens on 1 July.

Working alongside a team of masters and post-doc researchers, undergraduate interns will learn to use MATLAB software – a very powerful, easy-to-learn technical computing language. They will also adapt or improve existing MATLAB simulation for a number of trial scenarios, expected to learn the underlying knowledge for that specific simulation, learn one aspect of power system simulation, for example, power flow analysis or economic dispatch and will report their results.

Prospective students majoring in Electrical Engineering are preferred, while those with Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science majors are accepted if the stream includes a course in electrical circuits and electronics. However, a first course in differential equations and linear algebra is mandatory, while previous of knowledge of a programming language like C++ or JAVA will be an added advantage.

Dr. Amro M. Farid, Assistant Professor — Engineering Systems & Management, Masdar Institute and Research Affiliate — MIT Technology Development, said: “At Masdar Institute, we endeavor to link the often theoretical topics learned during undergraduate engineering programs with the practical industrial challenges of today. Such a strategy creates a win-win for all; capitalizing on the already invested engineering education, delivering results that will benefit Abu Dhabi while highly engaging the interest and enthusiasm of young engineers working on the projects.

“In my laboratory, the Emirati interns will take their undergraduate knowledge of MATLAB and simulate the dynamics of power plants and transmissions systems. This work is fundamental to determining the reliability and cost-efficiency of our existing energy systems and we believe the students will capitalize on this opportunity and gain further academic benefits.”

University seniors and/or those graduating this year with science, engineering or computer science as major subjects were eligible to apply for the summer internship program.

The Masdar Institute summer internship program will conclude with an award ceremony honoring the most outstanding performers across more than 15 project options. Results obtained from the research will also be displayed for the specially invited guests and families of students during the ceremony.

Established as an on-going collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice to incubate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, working to develop the critical thinkers and leaders of tomorrow. With its world-class faculty and top-tier students, the Institute is committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change through education and research.