Sustainable Energy & the Environment

Course Overview

The Sustainable Energy programme will advance students’ knowledge in efficiency techniques, sustainable energy technologies and energy management systems and strategies.



Students will share an experience of having learnt and worked in a multidisciplinary environment, been educated by world-leading experts in areas of their specialisation and benefitted from best-in-class pedagogy. Graduates will attain a future-proofed qualification to enable them to support a societal transition to live on this planet in a way that is sustainable and equitable.



Becoming an E3 (Engineering, Environment, and Emerging Technologies) graduate from Trinity means supporting a vision of a society where the interdependence between technological innovation and our natural capital is advanced by world-leading research, education and entrepreneurship.



Is This Course For Me?

This course is designed to provide civil engineers and other suitably qualified professionals with a good understanding of energy management and efficiency as well as sustainable energy generation. It will include theory and practice along with economics, current legal requirements, and standards. The course will be of particular interest to those already in employment as part of ongoing professional training as well as leading to the widening of new job opportunities available to new graduates.



Course Structure

This part-time blended-learning course is comprised of three modules, totalling 60 ECTS and delivered over an 8 month(September-April) or 2-semester period. Lectures will be delivered by academic and industry experts. The course schedule and blended-learning format of this course will provide flexibility for students to participate in the course out of standard working hours, with the majority of the programme participation offering in-person or virtual learning options.

The course consists of three taught modules:

Module 1: Energy Management and Efficiency module will introduce topics such as energy physics, energy resources, climate change, and the environment. Energy demand and management will be detailed in terms of policies in different sector, including buildings, transport and heavy industry. There will be a focus on measures for energy reduction and efficiency along with assessment procedures. Topics in energy economics, policy, embodied energy and life cycle analysis, and legislation and energy markets will be addressed.



Module 2: Sustainable Energy Technologies will introduce energy generation and conversion. It will concentrate on renewable energy generation technologies (including lectures on wind, wave, tidal, biomass, biofuels, geothermal, hydro, solar, waste to energy) and low carbon technologies (such as nuclear energy, hydrogen, fuel cells). Grid integration and energy storage will be addressed as well as the future of fossils including clean coal and carbon capture and storage.



Module 3: The Individual Research Project is a key element of the course where the theoretical and technical aspects of Sustainable Energy which has been presented, analysed and discussed in the other two modules are brought into practical and innovative focus. Each student will be expected to engage in a piece of original study to reveal a novel aspect of sustainable energy.



The Diploma award is based on a combination of the results of two examination papers and the individual project. Students must pass each paper and the project and neither of these can be deferred.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must have a minimum lower second-class (2.2) in an Honours Bachelor's of Engineering or Science degrees or equivalent professional qualification.

Closing Date: 31st July 2025

1 year part-time.

Next Intake: September 2025

Career Opportunities

This course widens job opportunities for its graduates and allows them to access such positions as Renewable Energy Administrator, Energy Engineer, Environmental Engineer, and Sustainability Consultant.