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1Abstract—Theemergingclean-energysmartgridenvironmentintheelectricpowersectorhasnecessitatedthatrelatededucationalprogramsevolvetomeettheneedsofstudents,faculty,andemployersalike.Inordertopreparethenextgenerationofpowerengineeringprofessionalstomeetthechallengesaheadintheelectricpowersector,anewcurriculummustbedevelopedthatincludescorepowerengineeringprincipalscoupledwithemergingaspectsofsmartgridtechnologiesandcleanenergyintegration.Suchcurriculumalsoneedstoconsidernotonlytheend-usesideofthepowersystemwithinthesmartgriddefinition,suchassmartmetering,communicationsanddemandresponseaspects,butalsootherkeyenablingtechnologiesthroughoutthewholetransmissionanddistributionsystemandtheentireenergysupplychain.Theseincludeareassuchasenergystoragetechnologies,advancedpowerelectronicsatthetransmissionanddistributionlevels,networkedcontrolsystems,automation,renewableandalternativeenergysystemsintegration,systemoptimization,real-timecontrol,andotherrelatedtopics.Inaddition,theevolutionofpowerprogramsandcurriculuminthisemergingareamusttakeintoaccountsignificantinputfromindustryconstituentsengagedinthemanufacturing,implementation,operation,andmaintenanceofthenewsmartgridtechnologiesandsystems.Byworkingcollaborativelywithindustrytomeetfutureemployerneeds,programswithnewlydevelopedcourseofferingswillbeabletobetterpreparestudentsandexistingprofessionalsalikefortherapidlygrowingclean-energy,smartgridenvironment.Thispaperwillprovideanoverviewofapotentialmodelforprogramstructuresandcoursedevelopmentsinthiscriticalarea,includingexamplesofinitiativesalreadybeingdevelopedanddeployed.I.INTRODUCTIONPartoftheAmericanRecoveryandReinvestmentActisfocusedonbuilding,operating,andmaintainingamodernelectricitydeliverysystem,withtheevolutiontowardafutureclean-energysmartgridinfrastructure,asillustratedbelowinFigure1.Inordertoachievethisgoal,itisnecessarytoestablishandtobeginimplementingsmartgrideducationmodelsthattakeintoaccounttraditionalcoreprincipalsofpowerengineeringeducation,whileatthesametimeintroducingnewandrelevantprinciplesandcoursesforamodernizedprogramcurriculum.GregoryF.ReedandWilliamE.StanchinaarewiththeDepartmentofElectricalandComputerEngineeringintheSwansonSchoolofEngineeringattheUniversityofPittsburgh,348BenedumEngineeringHall,PittsburghPA15261.(email:reed5@pitt.edu;wes25@pitt.edu)Suchprogramswillneedtoimmediatelyaddressindustryneedsoverthenextfive-to-tenyears,inordertotrainthe‘nextgeneration’oftheelectricpowerworkforce.Thisworkforceneedstobetrainedwithbothasolidtechnicalbackgroundandtheinnovativenesstoaddressnationalenergy-relatedchallenges,andinturnprovidegloballeadershipinthissector.Onemodelthatwouldworktowardsachievingmanyofthesegoalsisbasedonapost-baccalaureatecertificateprograminelectricpowerengineering,withafocusonclean-energysmartgridtechnologies,principles,andsystemsintegration.“SmartGrid”Technologies-Control,Commun.Automation,Prot.Figure1.SmartGridTechnologyIntegrationforEnhancedEnergyEfficiencyandCleanEnergyIntegrationII.BACKGROUNDAttheUniversityofPittsburgh’sSwansonSchoolofEngineering,post-baccalaureateengineeringcertificateprogramsintheareasofnuclearengineeringandcivilengineeringhavebeenhighlysuccessfulinmeetingsimilareducationandworkforcedevelopmentgoals.Basedontheseexperiences,theconceptforapost-baccalaureatecertificateprogramisconsideredhereasamodelformoderncurriculumdevelopmentinelectricpowerengineering.Thereexistsacriticalneedforsuchaprogramandotherworkforcedevelopmentinitiativesintheelectricpowersector,ashighlightedintheIEEEPESPowerandEnergyEngineeringWorkforceCollaborativeActionPlanof2009[1].BasedonthefindingsintheCollaborativeActionPlanreport,itisnecessarytonotonlyincreaseundergraduatestudentprogramsattheuniversitylevelinelectricpower,butSmartGridEducationModelsforModernElectricPowerSystemEngineeringCurriculumGregoryF.Reed,Member,IEEE;WilliamE.Stanchina,Member,IEEE978-1-4244-6551-4/10/$26.00©2010IEEE2alsoatthegraduatelevel.Thesewillbegraduate-leveleducatedprofessionalsthatareneededtomeetindustryemploymentneeds,bringinnovationtothefuturechallenges,andtakeadvantageofthetremendousopportunitiesthatarerapidlydevelopingintheelectricpowersector,especiallyintheclean-energysmartgridarena[1],[2].III.PROGRAMMODELFOUNDATIONANDINDUSTRYPARTICIPATIONByidentifyingtheemergingclean-energysmartgridoftheelectricpowersectorasanareaofneedforeducationaldevelopment,modelsfornewcurriculumdevelopmentarethereforerequired.Thesmartgridcanbedefinedas‘theimplementationofvariousenablingpowersystemautomation,communication,protection,andcontroltechnologiesthatwillallowreal-timeinteroperabilitybetweenend-usersandenergyproviders,inordertoenhanceefficiencyinutilizationdecision-makingbasedonresourceavailabilityandeconomics.’Everythingfromimprovedenergyefficiencyinbuildingstoeffectiveimplementationoftransportationelectrificationtotheintegrationofhigherpenetrationlevelsofrenewableresourceswillbeenhancedthrougheffectivesmartgridimplementation,asdepictedinFigure1.Keyareasofinitialeducationaldevelopmentareintheareasofsmartgridintegrationandreal-t