About the Master's Course in Solar Energy

Master's Course at EuroSun 2018

This Course offers the unique chance for students to attend one of the leading conferences in solar energy – EuroSun 2024, the ISES and IEA SHC International Conference on Sustainable Energy for Buildings and Industry – while at the same time challenging our young students to dive deep into independently studying one of the conference themes and to engage with leading scientists, researchers and practitioners on-site.

The course provides a great opportunity to learn about the latest developments in solar energy, to connect to the ISES and IEA SHC solar community around the world, build professional connections and is a great asset for the participating students overall.

Applications to the course are now closed, all applicants will be informed about the outcome of their application in early June.

Master's Course at EuroSun 2022

This Masters Course has been part of ISES congresses for many years, and we are happy to offer it again this year at EuroSun 2024! Masters Courses in Solar Energy have been held during EuroSun Conferences in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2022 as well as at ISES Solar World Congresses in 2011 and 2021.

The 2024 Masters Course in Solar Energy is supervised by Prof. Dr. Klaus Vajen (University of Kassel, Germany) and Prof. Alexandros Charalambides (Cyprus University of Technology).

Impressions: further details about the Courses that took place at past EuroSun Conferences and Solar World Congresses can be found in this publication.

For detailed information on the course, please consult the course FAQ sheet.

Course Content + Important Dates

This Master's Course is a "self-taught" course, which means that there won't be any taught classes in the traditional sense. Instead, students will be paired in groups of two to study one of the conference themes by attending all events relevant to the theme such as oral and poster presentations, keynotes, plenaries and workshops. Students will also be given access to all full papers submitted to their theme in advance of the conference so they can prepare to attend sessions in advance.

On site, students will be supported by the course conductor Prof. Vajen who will also give an introductory lecture before the official start of the conference.

 

Workload, Exam and ECTS Points: The workload of this course is 90 hours which corresponds to 3 ECTS points. This includes a literature study of the full papers submitted to the conference before the start of the conference, attending relevant sessions on-site during the conference as well as preparing the final presentation for the course exam.

For the final course exam, each group will be asked to give a presentation on the state of the art of the conference theme they covered during the event. This exam will take place on-site and in person on 31 August 2024.

On completion of the course, students will receive a graded certificate of achievements from the University of Kassel and the Cyprus University of Technology. The recognition of the course at your home university is your own responsibility.

 

Course Timeline for Students:

  • 31 May 2024 - Deadline for Applications
  • 05 June 2024 - Notifications of acceptance
  • 16 June 2024 - Deadline for Students to register for conference + course
  • 15 Aug 2024 - Full conference papers available for conference preparation
  • Mo, 19 Aug 2024 – Introduction to the course with Prof. Klaus Vajen (online, mandatory)
  • Sun, 25 Aug 2024 - Check-in into accommodation + Welcome Dinner with Prof. Klaus Vajen (ISES President & Course Conductor) (mandatory) (dinner costs included in course fee)
  • Mo, 26 Aug 2024 - Young ISES Meetings (optional) (meeting of young conference attendees, young ISES members and ISES team to clarify any questions on the conference and to introduce events dedicated to young conference attendees)
  • Mo, 26 Aug 2024 – Solar Speed Dating (optional) (event to connect young researchers with senior experts in their fields of research)
  • Mo, 26 August 2024 – Welcome Reception of the EuroSun conference (optional)
  • Tu-Th, 27-30 August 2024 - During the conference: daily check-in meetings during lunch
  • We, 28 Aug 2024 - Elsevier publishing workshop (optional) (workshop with representatives from publishing house Elsevier – publisher of the ISES journals Solar Energy and Solar Energy Advances – to learn about how to get published in an academic journal)
  • We, 28 Aug 2024 - Conference Gala Dinner (optional & self-paid by students)
  • Th, 29 Aug 2024 - Closing Ceremony: Presentation on course by student representatives
  • Fr, 30 August 2024 - Technical Tours (optional)
  • Sa, 31 August 2024 - Seminar and exam + Fare Well Dinner at night (dinner costs included in course fee)
  • Sun, 01 September 2024 - Check out from accommodation