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Master’s in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems

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Become the engineer who powers electrification

Electricity systems are changing as more renewable generation, storage, electric transport and power electronics connect to the grid. Managing that change requires engineers who understand how power is generated, converted, transmitted, distributed and controlled across increasingly complex networks.

The Master’s in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems prepares you to work across that landscape. You begin with a broad foundation in electric energy systems, covering power systems, smart grids, power electronics, electrical machines and related technologies. In Year 2, you choose where to go deeper through one of five study pathways.

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Programme at a glance

years

of a full-time programme

120

ECTS

across two academic years

universities

in one study path across two European countries

degrees

one from each university in your study path

specialisations

to choose from in Year 2

Your study plan

Choose one of two universities for your electric energy systems foundation:

KTH Royal Institute of Technology
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Study areas include power system analysis, smart electrical networks, power electronics, electrical machines and drives, communications and control, grid technology and high-voltage engineering. Year 1 also includes a mandatory 12 ECTS Industrial Innovation Project, completed in a student team in collaboration with a company or similar organisation, as well as a mandatory course in innovation and entrepreneurship in electric power engineering.

UPC · Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech
- Barcelona, Spain
- Study areas include electric energy conversion, power systems and renewable integration, with options in power electronics, electrical mobility, data science, automation, storage, wind power, power quality and smart grids.

European modules
- Alongside your Year 1 studies at KTH Royal Institute of Technology or Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), you take part in European Modules that broaden your view of electric power engineering through expertise from universities across the programme network.
  - Introduction to Smart Grids and Data-Driven Applications
    KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
  - Smart Buildings, Offshore Green Power and Power Electronics
    Grenoble INP – UGA, France & UPC · Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech, Spain
  - Power Quality and Energy Efficiency
    AGH University of Krakow, Poland
  - HVDC Supergrids
    KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
  - Data Science and ICT as Enablers for Smart Grids
    KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
  - Applications of Battery Storage
    Uppsala University, Sweden

Choose one of five universities and specialise in the area of electrical energy systems you want to take further:

Grenoble INP – UGA
- Grenoble, France
- Models and Methods for Grid Integration of Power Electronics, Storage and Smart Buildings Technologies: explore smart grids, distributed generation, energy markets, machine learning, grid modelling, microgrids, smart buildings, storage and power electronics.

KU Leuven
- Leuven, Belgium
- Power Distribution and Storage: build your route across electrical energy, thermomechanical energy and the techno-economic side of energy systems, with options including flexible power systems, electromobility, automation, electricity markets, energy law and optimisation, and a 6 ECTS industrial traineeship within the thesis.

UPC · Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech
- Barcelona, Spain
- Power Electronics as Enabling Technology for Renewable Integration: explore power electronics and electrical machines, data science, control and automation, energy storage, wind power, power-system optimisation, power quality and smart grids.
- Available in combination with Year 1 at KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

TU/e: Eindhoven University of Technology
- Eindhoven, the Netherlands
- Sustainable Electrical Energy Systems: specialise through areas including power quality, power converters, grid planning and operation, high-voltage technology, electricity markets, smart grids, system stability, machine learning and advanced power electronics, including a 45 ECTS graduation project that includes an internship.
- Currently available in combination with Year 1 at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Additional language requirements apply for this route.

KTH Royal Institute of Technology
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Smart Power Grid Technology: go deeper into areas such as FACTS and HVDC, wind power, power-system protection, electromagnetic compatibility, nonlinear control and project management.
- Available in combination with Year 1 at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC).

Explore the full curriculum in-depth

See exactly how the Master’s in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems is structured before you choose your study path. Inside are the individual courses and ECTS, mandatory and elective requirements, the Year 2 specialisations, and the research and graduation projects that form part of different routes. The full Courses & Syllabus also takes you through the European Modules, Industrial Innovation Project, and the qualifications available through the programme.

Get the full Courses & Syllabus

Beyond the syllabus

Take electrical engineering beyond the course list

Your university courses give you the technical foundation. Academics+ extends that experience through European learning, industry-based engineering challenges, entrepreneurship and additional digital skills.

Across the programme, you work beyond individual courses and university locations. You engage with companies, learn from experts across the European university network and apply electrical engineering to real challenges.

These experiences complement your technical studies in power systems, smart grids, power electronics and related areas, helping you understand how technologies move from engineering analysis towards real-world application.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Journey

At the end of Year 1, you attend a four-week entrepreneurship course at Esade Business School in Barcelona.

The programme combines highly interactive teaching with an entrepreneurial project related to innovation in smart grids.

Working in a team, you take an idea from its initial concept towards a first pitch. You develop a customer-focused, market-oriented business and financial plan and learn how the commercial side of an innovation connects with the engineering behind it.

The experience culminates in presenting your concept to partners and experts, including a first pitch towards potential business angels.

Apply your learning to real-world challenges

The Industrial Innovation Project is one of the programme’s central opportunities to apply your engineering knowledge outside a conventional course.

You work in a student team on a real challenge defined by an industry partner. Previous collaborations have included companies such as Vattenfall, Stora Enso and Skeleton Technologies.

You work directly with the organisation to understand the problem, develop an innovative solution and apply the technical knowledge you have built during the programme.

At least part of the project takes place on-site with the organisation that set the challenge. The project usually takes place in Sweden, although previous collaborations have also involved companies outside Sweden.

Experience the sector beyond the classroom

The programme’s European Modules connect you with expertise across the wider university network.

They broaden your view of electric power engineering through areas such as smart grids, battery storage, power electronics, power quality, energy efficiency, HVDC and data-driven applications.

The syllabus also includes industry visits to companies such as ABB, Hitachi Energy and Scania, connecting classroom learning with electrification in practice.

You also experience universities beyond your Year 1 location. The European Modules provide exposure to expertise and institutions across the programme network, including universities that can become part of your Year 2 study path.

Specific visits and activities vary by year, study path and availability.

Connect with the innovation ecosystem

The MEET brings Year 1 and Year 2 Master’s in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems students together at KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Year 1 students present the results of their Industrial Innovation Projects. Year 2 students present their ongoing Master’s thesis projects. This gives students across different routes the opportunity to see what others in the programme are developing and to exchange ideas across both years.

You can also take part in the Green Seed Journey, a six-month online entrepreneurship competition for Masters+ students. You develop an idea in an entrepreneurial environment while competing with peers, interacting with virtual investors and learning from business creation professionals.

Beyond this, internships, thesis projects and networking events can connect you with start-ups supported by InnoEnergy and with real-life consulting cases from companies in the wider ecosystem.

Add Data Science & AI to your engineering profile

You can complement your electrical engineering studies with additional learning in Data Science & AI for Energy.

The courses are designed to build practical digital skills for the energy sector and can support careers in areas ranging from energy analysis to digital innovation.

You can explore modules including:

Built across 5 universities and a business school

See the programme from the inside

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Your thesis

Your second year culminates in a substantial Master’s thesis, degree project or graduation project focused on an electric-power engineering question.

The exact structure depends on your Year 2 university and can include research, industry collaboration or a larger graduation project alongside specialised coursework.

Previous Master’s in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems students have completed thesis work with organisations including ABB, Alliander, Enexis Groep, Fortum, Hitachi Energy, Scania, Schneider Electric, TenneT, Tesla and Vattenfall.

Your degrees

After successfully completing the two-year programme, you will receive a degree from each university in your study path:

Master of Science (Teknologie Masterexamen) from KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Master’s degree in Electric Power Systems and Drives from (UPC) Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
International Master of Science in Electrical Engineering for Smart Grids and Buildings from Grenoble INP – UGA
Master of Science (Burgerlijk Ingenieur) from KU Leuven
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from TU/e Eindhoven University of Technology

Additional credentials

Esade Business School: Certificate of Academic Participation in the Innovation & New Venture Creation Programme
An EIT Label Certificate (from the European Union)*: additional recognition of the programme’s entrepreneurship, mobility and learning model.
Optional digital learning: additional certificates are available for students completing eligible optional courses.

*The EIT Label is a quality seal awarded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) to a KIC educational programme that has been assessed positively by the EIT on the implementation of the EIT Quality Assurance and Learning Enhancement (EIT QALE) system and the application of specific quality criteria with focus on the EIT Overarching Learning Outcomes (EIT OLOs), robust entrepreneurship education, highly integrated, innovative ‘learning-by-doing’ curricula, international mobility and outreach.

See how your whole Masters+ journey comes together

From your first steps before arrival to graduation and beyond, see how Masters+ develops across two years of academics, entrepreneurship, career development and community, and continues beyond graduation.

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Careers+

As electricity systems become more interconnected, electrified and digitally managed, engineers are needed across power systems, smart grids, power electronics, storage and grid operations. The Master’s in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems lets you build deeper expertise without limiting you to one career path. Your background, study route and experience can lead to a wide range of roles across the electricity sector.

Discover how Careers+ can help you shape your next career step

Where the Master’s in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems takes you

Example roles:

Power Systems Engineer
Grid Planning Engineer
Transmission Planning Engineer
Distribution Systems Engineer

Work on how electricity networks are designed, expanded and operated as demand, generation and infrastructure change.

Example roles:

Smart Grid Engineer
Grid Automation Engineer
Digital Grid Engineer
Power Systems Data Analyst

Use control, communications and data to make electricity networks more observable, flexible and responsive.

Example roles:

Power Electronics Engineer
Converter Engineer
Electrical Drives Engineer
Electrification Engineer

Work with technologies that convert and control electrical power across grids, renewable generation, industry and electric mobility.

Example roles:

Grid Integration Engineer
Energy Storage Engineer
Renewable Energy Systems Engineer
Flexibility Engineer

Work on integrating renewable generation, batteries and other flexible resources while maintaining power-system stability and performance.

Example roles:

Grid Operations Engineer
Electricity Market Analyst
Energy Systems Analyst
Power Market Consultant

Work where physical power systems, operational decisions, flexibility and electricity markets meet.

Example roles:

Electrical Energy Consultant
Research Engineer
Technical Project Manager
Energy Systems Consultant

Apply electrical-energy expertise across technology development, research, consulting and multidisciplinary projects.

Companies hiring Masters+ energy networks and systems graduates

Masters+ students working together outdoors during a group activity

CommUnity+

The Master’s in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems takes you across universities, countries and specialisations, but you are part of Masters+ throughout the whole experience. You meet students beyond your own university and programme, build connections across the wider energy sector and join a community that continues after graduation.

CommUnity+ is where that wider Masters+ network comes together.

Explore CommUnity+

Talk to a student

Want to know what moving between universities is really like, how students choose their Year 2 electrical networks and systems pathway or what the workload feels like?

Admission requirements

To apply for InnoEnergy Masters+, you need:

A completed Bachelor’s degree worth at least 180 ECTS, or equivalent
The required level of English language proficiency
A Bachelor’s degree that meets the programme-specific academic requirements

Still finishing your Bachelor’s?

You can apply while you are in the final year of your undergraduate degree. If your application is successful, you may receive a conditional offer while you complete your studies.

*If you plan to study at TU/e Eindhoven University of Technology in Year 2, higher English-language requirements apply. Check the English proficiency requirements before choosing your study path.

For the Master’s in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems, your Bachelor’s degree should be in electrical engineering, electronics, power engineering, physical engineering or another closely related field, such as:

Mechanical Engineering
Electronic Engineering
Energy-related Engineering

You need a minimum average grade of 75%. Your previous studies must also include at least:

60 ECTS in Electrical Engineering and
30 ECTS in Mathematics, covering:
- Calculus
- Numerical methods
- Algebra
- Probability theory
- Basic control theory

Master’s in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems applicants must also submit a separate motivation letter explaining their reasons for applying to the programme.

The full requirements page explains the application process, required documents and the evidence you need to provide.

How to apply

Joining the Master’s in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems

Are you ready to become the engineer who powers electrification?

Take the next step in electrification with the Master’s in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems, a study route that matches your engineering background and ambitions, and apply for Intake 2027.

Start your application

Looking at a different part of the energy system? Explore other Masters+ programmes