Santa Clara University

Graduate - Smart Grid Careers

Graduate Engineering

Looking for a career in growth sector with great job opportunities?

SMART GRID GROWTH SPURS GREEN JOB BOOM

Calling the development of a "smart" electric power grid an "urgent national priority," the Obama administration’s strong push for smart grid development and deployment is leading to a boom in “green” jobs in Silicon Valley and beyond.

With its focus on technology upgrades to the electrical grid, the U.S. Department of Energy announced in May 2009 it would raise the maximum amount of matching grants for smart grid projects tenfold to $200 million per project with the goal of funding projects of all sizes as quickly as possible. This development has already shifted the competitive landscape for businesses vying to supply their technology and services to utility companies.

Tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, General Electric, IBM and Cisco have all announced plans to sell products aimed at making electrical grids more efficient and responsive. Defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE, and Raytheon have been making an under-the-radar push into smart grid projects of late – especially for projects with federal stimulus funds.

According to a study released in January 2009 by GridWise Alliance member KEMA Inc., a $16 billion federal investment in "smart incentives" over the next four years would lead to $64 billion in smart grid-related projects and 280,000 new jobs. The study identified the biggest job growth to be in direct and indirect suppliers of smart grid equipment and services. An estimated 117,700 jobs will be needed for direct suppliers to utilities of equipment like smart meters and services such as demand response management, with another 79,300 jobs required for companies supplying those direct purveyors. IBM's 2009 study shows the government's $50 billion investment in smart grid over the next 5 years will lead to 239,000 new jobs.

AUGMENT YOUR ENGINEERING KNOWLEDGE WITH SMART GRID-RELATED JOB SKILLS

The smart grid sector growth presents an exciting, new career opportunity for engineering professionals who plan to transition from mature or declining sectors to a growing industry where their experience remains relevant and all they need to update their skill set is to take a few classes.

For nearly a century, Santa Clara University’s School of Engineering has been a leader in providing up-to-the-minute and in-demand education in keeping with industry development and evolution in technology. In addition to the Master’s and Ph.D. programs, we offer:

 

SCU Engineering Alumni Discount

Audit graduate engineering courses at 50% tuition discount. Contact LeAnn Marchewka (tel: 408-554-4765) in the Graduate Programs Office with your name/program/graduation year (required) and employer name (optional) to receive this special discount.

 

Our courses and programs teaching the engineering skills that smart grid companies look for include:

Smart Grid Skills
 SCU Engineering Courses and Programs
Smart Grid Overview
 1-Day Emerging Topics Certificate Program: Smart Grid and Energy Storage
Emerging Topics Solar Technology Series
 1-Day Emerging Topics Certificate Program: Introduction to Photovoltaics
1-Day Emerging Topics Certificate Program: Function and Design of Solar Cells
1-Day Emerging Topics Certificate Program: Advanced World of Photovoltaics
1-Day Emerging Topics Certificate Program: Flexible Electronics & Plastic Green Technologies
Sustainable Energy
 ELEN 280/MECH 287, Introduction to Alternative Energy Systems
ELEN 281, Electric Power Systems
ELEN 282, Photovoltaic Devices and Systems
ELEN 283, Characterization of Photovoltaic Devices
ELEN 284, Design and Fabriacation of Photovoltaic Cells
Analog Integrated Circuit Design ELEN 250, Electronic Circuits
ELEN 251, Transistor Models for IC Design
ELEN 252, Analog Integrated Circuits I
ELEN 253, Analog Integrated Circuits II
ELEN 254, Advanced Analog Integrated Circuit
ELEN 351, RF Integrated Circuit Design
ELEN 352, Mixed Signal IC Design for Data Communications
ELEN 353, Power IC Design
ELEN 354, Advanced RFIC Design
16-Unit Certificate Program: Analog Circuit Design
Telecommunications and Wireless Communications ELEN 241, Introduction to Communication
ELEN 242, Communication Systems
ELEN 243, Digital Communication Systems
ELEN 244, Information Theory
ELEN 347, Advanced Digital Communication Systems
ELEN 446, Introduction to Wireless Communication Systems
ELEN 447, Wireless Network Architecture
COEN 233, Computer Networks
COEN 234, Network Management
COEN 235, Client/Server Programming
COEN 236, UNIX Network Programming
COEN 239, Network Design Analysis
COEN 331, Mobile and Ad Hoc Networking
16-Unit Certificate Program: Networking
Digital Electronics ELEN 387, VLSI Design I
ELEN 388, VLSI Design II
ELEN 500, Logic Analysis and Synthesis
ELEN 602, Modern Time Analysis
ELEN 603, Logic Design Using HDL
ELEN 604, Semicustom Design with Programmable  Devices
ELEN 605, High-Level Synthesis
ELEN 608, Design for Testability
ELEN 613, SoC (System-on-Chip) Verification
ELEN 620, Design of System on a Chip
ELEN 624, Signal Integrity in IC and PCB Systems
16-Unit Certificate Program: ASIC Design and Test
Information Security COEN 225, Secure Coding in C and C++
COEN 250, Information Security Management
COEN 252, Computer Forensics
COEN 350, Network Security
COEN 351, Internet and E-Commerce Security
16-Unit Certificate Program: Information Assurance
Oracle: SQL, XML tools COEN 280, Database Systems
Java, Perl, Python, Ruby, Bash and other Scripting languages COEN 275, Object Oriented Analysis, Design and Programming
COEN 276, Web Programming I
COEN 396, Advanced Topics in Computer Engineering
16-Unit Certificate Program: Advanced Studies in Software Engineering
C++ CSCI 60, Object Oriented Programming
Firmware development: real-time embedded C, device drivers & interrupt handlers COEN 20, Introduction to Embedded Systems
COEN 120, Real Time Systems
COEN 210, Computer Architecture
RTOS (multi-threaded, multi-tasking), object-oriented design concepts COEN 20, Introduction to Embedded Systems
COEN 120, Real Time Systems
COEN 319, Parallel Programming
Distributed systems COEN 317, Distributed Systems
16-Unit Certificate Program: Networking
Application code development using Object Oriented Methodology COEN 275, Object Oriented Analysis, Design and Programming
16-Unit Certificate Program: Advanced Studies in Software Engineering
Development using SOAP/Web Services Protocols, XML & XML Schema related technologies COEN 276, Web Programming I
COEN 396, Advanced Topics in Computer Engineering
16-Unit Certificate Program: Advanced Studies in Software Engineering
Development with relational database products COEN 280, Database Systems
 
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