Event on 5 March in Rome to Highlight Advantages of Pursuing Graduate Studies in Abu Dhabi’s Research-Based Institution
Rome-Italy/Abu Dhabi-UAE: 4 March, 2013 – A team of faculty and students from Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, will participate in Spring 2013 QS World Grad School Tour Fair & Seminars on 5 March in Rome to highlight the advantages of pursuing graduate studies at the Abu Dhabi-based institution.
A large number of graduates from across universities in Italy are expected to gather for the event from 5.00pm-8.00pm at Hotel Palatino, Via Cavour 213/M, Rome. Pre-fair presentations and panels are scheduled from 4.00pm-5.00pm. Dr. Marco Stefancich, Assistant Professor – Materials Science and Engineering, with student Carlo Maragliano and other representatives, and staff from Masdar Institute, will showcase a research project that aims to find an approach to circumvent the limitations in the efficiency of solar photovoltaic systems.
Developed in cooperation with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute’s graduate programs integrate education, research and scholarly activities. With admission criteria similar to MIT, Masdar Institute helps students to be innovators, creative scientists, researchers and critical thinkers in technology development, systems integration and policy.
Masdar Institute’s research themes include ‘water, environment and health’, ‘energy systems’, and ‘microsystems and advanced materials’.
Dr. Fred Moavenzadeh, President, Masdar Institute, said: “Since inception, we have achieved breakthroughs in research and innovation, contributing to developing the region’s human capital and R&D infrastructure. Our patents, research accomplishments and academic success serve as an inspiration for graduate students seeking to enroll and acquire clean energy knowledge. This roadshow offers us an opportunity to interact with students across Europe and apprise them of the learning options at the sustainable campus. We welcome them to take advantage of our educational and research offerings.”
Explaining his project, Dr. Marco Stefancich said that his team is working in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to achieve the best conversion rate for achieving power from solar cells. He added that the challenging project is already providing important results and will ensure sustainable and economically viable high efficiency new generation solar panels.
Masdar Institute provides such niche research options to participate in the creation of intellectual property rights and patents. Pursuing Master’s degree in Masdar Institute also gives students an opportunity to gain job placements in the fast-growing clean energy and sustainable sector in the region and worldwide.
Masdar Institute has one patent already issued and 16 active patent applications pending at present. With publications of papers in 311 peer-reviewed journals, 330 conference papers, two full books and 38 invention disclosures, it has already notched up success in academic and research fields.
In addition to providing full scholarship to qualified applicants, Masdar Institute has collaboration agreements with several organizations including the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) for up to 20 scholarships and Toyota Motor Corporation for one student every year to work in sustainable transportation.
For the September 2012 intake, the total number of enrolled students across the eight Master’s programs reached 336. The student body is expected to grow to 600-800 over the next few years. Two batches of Master’s students have already graduated from Masdar Institute – the first in June 2011 and the second in May 2012.
Admissions for Fall 2013 are now open. Application forms can be downloaded from www.masdar.ac.ae/Admission.html. A minimum CGPA of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 and a minimum GRE Quantitative scope of 700 (or 155 on the new scale) are mandatory for applicants. Talented applicants, who may not meet the GRE and TOEFL/IELTS requirements but are otherwise qualified to enroll, may be admitted. They will be, however, required to pass two placement exams or complete additional technical and math coursework.
Dr. Marco Stefancich obtained his ‘Laurea’ at the University of Pisa in Italy in 1995 as a student at the ‘Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa’ and PhD in physics at the University of North Texas, US, in 1998. He obtained a permanent position as researcher at the National (Italian) Institute for Research (CNR) in 2003 and co-founded a spin-off company in Italy for concentrating photovoltaic systems in 2006.
Dr. Stefancich’s interests cover all aspects of solar energy and sustainable development.
Serving as a key pillar of innovation and human capital, Masdar Institute remains fundamental to Masdar’s core objectives of developing Abu Dhabi’s knowledge economy and finding solutions to humanity’s toughest challenges such as climate change.
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.
