Initiatives for Teaching Energy Modelling to Graduate Students

Abstract

The Institut de l'´ energie Trottier of thé Ecole Polytechnique de Montréal offers four new masters in energy programmes. Enrolling graduate students come from diverse backgrounds and there is a need for an intense introductory course on energy modelling. Such a new course has been created to propose a hands-on experience that enlightens their understanding of what energy modelling is. Powerful yet simple tools such as OSeMOSYS and LEAP are used. Links with economics and environmental issues are discussed. This paper presents an overview of the various topics studied in class and will allow anyone interested in creating a similar course to have a starting point to help them on their quest to develop highly qualified professionals. Individuals completing this course gain a general overview of the field and are ready to pursue further study with the necessary knowledge to do so. It will help them to communicate their work with professionals that may not be used to work with operation research (OR) specialists. The approach is also useful for anyone wanting to learn more on the subject. A course outline completes the paper.