To build up the engineering capacity for UK HVDC industry, The National HVDC Centre is strengthening the ties with UK academic institutions to foster a pipeline of HVDC engineers and promote awareness of HVDC technologies to future professionals in the sector of electricity utilities.
The National HVDC Centre is sending out front-line engineers to the lecture theatres of UK universities to deliver guest lectures on the latest HVDC projects. In the past year, this includes hundreds of students in electrical power engineering with the institutions of University of Strathclyde (UoS), University of Edinburgh (UoE), and University of Manchester (UoM). By December 2023, the Centre will also bring the updates of the latest GB HVDC projects to the classrooms of Imperial College London (ICL).
To support HVDC technology research and foster elite engineers, the Centre is working with national funding bodies to support 2 joint research programs at doctoral level, namely ETP (Energy Technology Partnership) with the Scottish Funding Council and IDCORE (Centre for Doctoral Training in Offshore Renewable Energy) with Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Natural Environment Research Council. The centre is jointly supervising 2 ETP PhD studentships with UoS and UoE. Topics cover control interactions of HVDC converters and energy storage systems. The Centre is also hosting the full-time secondment for an industrial doctoral student from UoE to de-risk the control of future HVDC grids of GB.
Interactive Infographic Source: National Grid Ventures (https://www.nationalgrid.com/national-grid-ventures/interconnectors-connecting-cleaner-future/multi-purpose-interconnectors)