This Graduate Certificate proposal responds to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority's (NJEDA) call for providing workforce training, skill development, job placement, and other related workforce enhancements to establish the offshore wind talent pipeline in the New Jersey State. This Graduate Certificate in a series of educational and training programs will nurture the workforce needed to operate and manage offshore wind power plants that may start generating electricity as early as 2024. The development of this Graduate Certificate is sponsored by the NJEDA (an MOU was signed recently).
This 12-credit graduate certificate program is composed of four courses specialized on wind plant operation and inspection. Students in this certificate program will learn to monitor and maintain the operation of a wind farm with the latest inspection and data analytic technologies to keep wind turbines running smoothly with minimum downtime. The program looks into the topic of interconnecting off-shore wind power generation systems to on-shore power grids and, in the process, students will learn about pertinent Regional Transmission Operator (RTO) processes. They will study the behavior of wind power systems under such conditions as sudden changes in the load or the generated power, short circuiting on transmission lines, and acceptable procedures to control and achieve resilience.
Who would be suited to take this program?
Students and professionals interested in a career in the offshore wind industry could enroll in this program to receive competitive training for success in the offshore wind industry. According to the report "New York State and the Jobs of Offshore Wind Energy" published in 2017 by the Workforce Development Institute, professional education beyond a bachelor degree is required for many occupations in the offshore wind industry; examples include engineering manager, chief engineer and operation manager. The report "U. S. Offshore Wind Workforce Assessment" published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in October 2022, points out that offshore wind occupations like finance managers, engineers, researchers, developers, safety officers, information technologists, permitting coordinators, etc., will need education that will be offered by universities. According to the U. S. Department of Energy's “Wind Vision: A New Era for Wind Power in the United States” report (https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/wind-vision) and an article published in the journal Wind Engineering ("Graduate and Undergraduate University Programs in Wind Energy in the United States", vol. 43, pages 35-46, 2019), the United States may need more than 50,000 university-educated professionals with advanced degrees to support wind energy development by 2030.
What are the Required Courses?
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses (3) | ||
| Wind Transmission and Grid Interconnection | 3 | |
| HVDC Design, Operation and Maintenance | 3 | |
| Power System Dynamics | 3 | |
| Electives | ||
| Select (1) of the following: | 3 | |
| Independent Study (for doing a technical project jointly identified by NJIT and the offshore wind industry) | ||
| Data Mining and Analysis / Data Mining | ||
What will I learn?
This program will address and highlight the entire wind plant life cycle and related system design parameters, materials, joints and terminations, installation on land and subsea, and asset management of HVDC (High-Voltage Direct Current) power cables while in operation. It will provide technical analysis of interoperability as well as the pros and cons of possible technical solutions in order to provide a well-rounded view of the issues. It will also cover topics such as grid codes, power system balancing, and integration of fluctuating renewables into the power grid. The students will learn the fundamentals of wind turbine generator dynamics, transient stability analysis, and small and large disturbance stability. The topics will be explained based on theoretical aspects as well as hand calculations so that the students can grasp the concepts more easily. Finally, systemic principles of wind power system management will be explored, such as the role of smart grids, data-enabled machine learning, power electronics-control, and data-driven decision-making.
Why study offshore wind at NJIT?
This is the first graduate certificate program developed in New Jersey for offshore wind power management. NJIT is well connected with New Jersey State Government offices, offshore wind developers, transmission developers, and offshore supply chain companies in its efforts to prepare students for a career in the offshore wind industry. For the development of certificate programs targeting offshore wind workforce training, NJIT is in the process of forming an advisory board involving members from the government, industry and academia. Besides, students can also take advantage of the offshore wind events that NJIT has been organizing, including a biannual 2-day offshore wind bootcamp training, an annual offshore wind technology conference, and an annual offshore wind career exhibition. Participants can interact with industry experts and network with project managers.
Prerequisites
Students with backgrounds in electrical engineering, physical sciences, or engineering technology are well suited to enroll in this program to acquire the technical knowledge to transition into the booming offshore wind industry.
Related Degree Programs
Credits from this graduate certificate can be applied toward the NJIT MS in Power and Energy Systems.
Take Note
Check the course descriptions for more information. Some courses have prerequisites, and must be taken in order.
Faculty Advisor: Phillip Pong
