Power Engineering Education as Viewed from University Administration

This paper explores the climate for electric power system education in U.S. universities, how it is likely to be perceived by university administrators and how it may influence their collective decision to hire and ultimately grant tenure to young electric power faculty. It is widely believed that funding opportunities and graduate enrollments in electric power systems are dwindling, although no firm data are available from the IEEE Power Engineering Educational Resource Survey to substantiate this view. Several factors are examined that could influence employment opportunities in the electric power area and hence enrollments in power programs. Further, a brief review of technical challenges in the power system area that could help to attract both undergraduate and graduate students is presented. It is concluded that schools with a tradition of excellence in electric power system research and education and a base of external support from utilities and manufacturers of power equipment will continue to provide a quality environment for young faculty and quality graduates for the electric power industry.