The Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at Fourah Bay College offers study opportunity at the Master of Philosophy (MPhil) level in Energy Studies, leading to a degree awarded by the University of Sierra Leone (USL). Energy studies is an emerging interdisciplinary area devoted to finding new methods of sustainable energy production and improving the efficiency of existing systems. It addresses issues such as the social and environmental aspects of energy use, as well as the economic and scientific aspects of conventional and sustainable energy generation and use.
Three new energy access courses (Local Solutions for Energy Access, Mini-grids: Planning and Design and Solar Appliances for Off-grid Communities) designed by The Transforming Energy Access – Learning Partnership (TEA-LP) programme at the University of Cape Town with support from UKAid have been incorporated into the MPhil in Energy Studies programme. The TEA-LP programme aims to support the development of multidisciplinary postgraduate academic curricula at African higher education institutions to bridge the skills gap in Africa’s rapidly-growing energy access sector. Students in the MPhil programme will be linked into the network that TEA-LP provides, with unique opportunities to further their careers in the sustainable off-grid energy sector. The TEA-LP is also working to support students with bursaries.