Erasmus Mundus in Economics and Management of Network Industries

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The liberalization and regulation of network industries and infrastructures across the world creates a need for industries and public institutions to hire skilled professionals capable of understanding these processes and participating actively in their management and regulation.

The EMIN Joint Master Programme offers the opportunity to acquire expertise in the management of network industries from a global perspective that covers both economic/regulatory and technological/management issues. In these industries, teaching, training and research are typically carried out solely by focused specialists, which usually results in a skewed perspective. The purpose of this Master is to continue integrating specialists from different backgrounds and nationalities, and to make them interact in an interdisciplinary program so as to address the main problems faced by network industries in the current context of economic crisis and environmental concern. Our master students will learn the relevant engineering, economics, policy and management principles that should guide the functioning of network and infrastructure industries with a special focus on the energy and electrical power sector. Throughout the master, students will apply these skills and knowledge to solve real-life problems, since this course is dedicated to training qualified professionals.

This Master Programme is awarded jointly by some of the most prestigious European universities. First line American and Asian universities and research institutes are also part of the programme consortium.

The EMIN Joint Master Programme was awarded in 2006 the Erasmus Mundus excellence label by the European Commission. This award was renewed for another 5 years in 2010. Therefore, scholarships granted by the European Commission will be available both for EMIN students and visiting professors during the forthcoming years. The Erasmus Mundus excellence label has only been granted so far to 126 Masters and 34 doctorates in all disciplines and Universities across Europe. Comillas also coordinates the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate in Sustainable Energy Technologies and Strategies (SETS Joint Doctorate).

The Erasmus Mundus programme aims to enhance quality in higher education through scholarships and academic cooperation between Europe and the rest of the world.

Added Value
The EMIN Joint Master Programme has an advantage over existing programmes in the added value stemming from its partners' joint expertise, the relevance of the subjects addressed, the participation of supporting industries and institutions, and the target of offering a joint degree once legal obstacles and national legislation so allow.

All these advantages ensure an impact on European competitiveness in this area, and the development of cutting-edge education and collaboration between the academic and the industrial worlds.

This added value of the EMIN Joint Master Programme can be summarized in the following points: international component, renowned partners, interdisciplinary approach, industry connection, experience gained in the management of this programme, and research career opportunities.

The EMIN is a two-year joint programme (120 ECTS) with two separate phases:

Training period (90 ECTS): 3 semesters worth 30 ECTS each of lectures at the partner universities.

Master Thesis and internships (30 ECTS): to be carried by students at any of the EMIN partner universities, with the collaboration of the industry partners that will support the development of professional internship of EMIN students during the last stage of their studies.



Training period
During the training period, the EMIN program must be bed from various disciplines. The training of EMIN students must combine, in a coordinated manner, the economics of network industries, the management and policy of infrastructures, the regulation of key sectors for the development of the European single market, and the technological aspects that characterize network industries making them different from other sectors.

This interdisciplinary nature is one of the most unique features of the EMIN joint programme, and it requires careful design in order to guarantee that students with different backgrounds (economics and engineering) are able to supplement their previous training with new concepts and areas of knowledge while keeping the cohesiveness of the whole programme. The structure of the training period can be represented as shown in the figure below, in which each box represents the main area of expertise of the degree-awarding partners

Master thesis
Once students have passed the required 90 ECTS of training coursework, they will start a research period for their Master Thesis (30 ECTS)¹ . The university hosting students for their dissertations may offer them additional coursework required for the development of the master dissertation.

Students may write their theses either at a university department, laboratory or institute, or in a company placement, depending on the pathway and interest of the candidate. The EMIN Master has fostered the establishment of regular links and internship agreements with companies so that students willing to have a professional experience linked to their Master Thesis can be granted this opportunity.

Industries involved in the EMIN advisory committee as associated partners, will participate especially in this placement agreements, but a growing number of other companies with a looser relationship to the Master will also be involved.

In any case, students will submit Master Theses at the University where the thesis has been registered, and in front of an international committee, taking advantage of the yearly joint dedicated research seminar to be held at the Florence School of Regulation - Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute in Florence (Italy).



Mobility
The previous experience of the four groups of EMIN students already in progress show two different student profiles:

* engineering graduates searching for a more global systemic approach that includes economic, management and policy perspectives, and
* economics and management graduates requiring to learn how to use advanced tools in the technological layer to better understand the fundamentals of network industries.

Common to both these profiles is the focus on advanced tools for decision-making, regulation and policy analysis.

The co-existence of these two different disciplinary profiles requires a more specific framework for student pathways to follow through the universities of the Consortium. The flexibility of the course in terms of the mobility component is very attractive, but academic path followed must be structured carefully in order to define clearly what the expected outcome is once a student finishes the course.

This 'structured flexibility' has been made explicit in this proposed update by the definition of various pathways. Each pathway requires a different background, and some of the skills and abilities earned by the student can be pathway-dependent. From the point of view of career development and employability, this structure can help future employers to easily identify the expected abilities of EMIN graduates, and to differentiate the variety of profiles according to the pathway followed in such an interdisciplinary programme

Common admission criteriaThe selection of EMIN students will be based on the excellence of their studies.Mandatory requirementsPrevious studiesThe criteria for previous studies include:Candidates must have obtained a BSc diploma (or equivalent) of substantial quality and level corresponding to at least 3 years studies at a University, equivalent to 180 ECTS.Candidates must hold a degree in Engineering, Economics or Management (to study at TUDelft and KULeuven, these studies must be in a technological field or the natural sciences).English proficiencyStudents must take courses in English (Delft, Comillas and Paris XI), and possible courses are also offered in French (Paris XI), Spanish (Comillas) and Dutch (KULeuven and TUDelft). A high level of English is therefore required.Students whose mother tongue is not English and who did not take all their secondary or tertiary education in English, must provide proof of their command of English, for instance the English Proficiency Certificate, International TOEFL score 80 (Internet-based test), IELTS (academic version) overall band score of at least 6.5, or a DIALANG European Test level B2.Knowledge of French, Spanish and/or Dutch is not mandatory, but will be taken into account. If they are not the mother language of the student, understanding may be acknowledged in two ways: submitting official proof of language skill: Diplôme d'Etudes en Langue Française, Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera; or by passing the DIALANG European test. English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 TOEFL iBT® test: 80

2013 Scholarships
Regular student scholarships

* 5 Category A student scholarships.
* 4 Category B student scholarships.

Windows student scholarships

In addition and similarly to previous years, additional scholarships should be made available for:

* Students from the "Western Balkans and Turkey"" - 1 category WBT student scholarship
* Students from "Tunisia and Egypt" - 1 category ENPI student scholarship
* Students from the "Eastern Neighbourhood Countries"" - 1 category 1ENC student scholarship