Energy Engineering with a Year in Industry

Energy engineering is a discipline at the centre of one of the great challenges of our time: how to transition from fossil fuels to a reliable, affordable, and low-carbon energy system. It draws on electrical, mechanical, and chemical engineering principles and applies them to the generation, distribution, storage, and efficient use of energy. From wind turbines and solar panels to smart grids, battery storage, hydrogen systems, and nuclear power, energy engineers are the people who design, build, and operate the infrastructure of the energy transition.

This five-year full-time programme at the University of East Anglia includes a year in industry, giving you substantial professional experience in an energy-related organisation as part of your studies. UEA has a strong commitment to sustainability and a research culture engaged with the real-world challenges of decarbonisation, and the programme benefits from that context. You will study thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, electrical power systems, renewable energy technologies, energy economics and policy, control and instrumentation, and the design and assessment of energy systems at various scales.

The year in industry, typically in an energy company, engineering consultancy, or research organisation, gives you direct professional experience that contextualises and extends your academic learning.

Energy engineering graduates are in strong demand across the energy sector: in renewables development, electricity network operation and design, energy consultancy, the oil and gas industry (which continues to employ large numbers of engineers while it transitions), nuclear energy, and the built environment where energy efficiency is a major priority. Professional registration as a chartered engineer is available through bodies such as the Institution of Engineering and Technology or the Energy Institute. Many graduates also pursue postgraduate study in energy systems, offshore engineering, or sustainable development.