Dirigido a:
Personas interesadas en realizar un International Master in Economics and Management of Network Industries (EMIN) Erasmus Mundus.
Comentarios:
Introduction:
Network industries are industries which move products, information or people from one place to another via a physical network. These industries include utility networks (electricity, natural gas, water), transport networks (road, railway, air), and information networks (telecommunications, postal services). Given their role as providers of services of general economic interest, and their direct effect on the competitiveness of the European Union in a worldwide context, the importance of these industries functioning correctly is beyond any doubt.
Leer más
Historically, network industries were vertically integrated and generally organised on a national (or even regional) basis. However, during the last decade, European network industries and infrastructures have been gradually exposed to market restructuring with the aim of achieving competitiveness and efficiency. These reforms, typically called 'liberalisation' or 'deregulation' processes, have required the unbundling of activities and the introduction of competition by means of various market mechanisms. However, a structural feature of most network industries is the presence of a physical grid separating producers and customers, such as transmission lines, pipes, railway tracks, etc. These network activities generally have inherent natural monopoly features that require effective regulatory measures and public policy intervention. Determining the exact level of intervention is probably one of the most controversial challenges of market regulation. Thus, the technological complexity present in network industries, and their major economic repercussions, requires an interdisciplinary approach in which both economic and engineering profiles must be carefully embedded.
As a result of these liberalisation processes, new forms of regulatory governance and policy have been put in practice in the 27 EU Member States. However, this situation is not exclusive to Europe, and there is an international trend towards opening up the network industries to competition. Thus, despite the experience gained in Europe and the lessons learnt in recent years, many challenges are still present. It is crucial that Europe continues to lead these dynamic processes in order to improve its productivity and competitiveness in the face of ever-fiercer global competition, technological change and an ageing population.
On 3 March 2010, the European Commission launched the Europe 2020 Strategy to exit the crisis and to prepare the EU economy for the next decade. Under the motto /Europe 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth/, the communication from the Commission is full of references to the economics, management, and regulation of network industries with particular emphasis on the energy sector. For instance, the document explicitly mentions the need to remove critical bottlenecks in key network infrastructures, the initiative to upgrade Europe's networks, including Trans European Energy Networks, with particular emphasis on 'smart grids' and the penetration of renewable energy sources, the need to complete the internal energy market, the plan to ensure that transport and logistics networks provide industry throughout the EU with effective access to the Single Market and the international market beyond, etc. Regarding the energy sector, it is worth mentioning the recent publication of the Third Energy Package that aims to develop the internal electricity and gas markets (introducing significant changes to network planning) and the harmonisation of national energy regulators to ensure their greater independence, while strengthening cooperation between them. This is only one example that shows the timeliness and relevance of the topics covered by the proposed EMMC.
The relevance of the EMIN master to the current scenariois further justified when analyzed in the context of other EU flagship initiatives in the areas of education, employment and skills. The "Youth on the move" flagship initiative, for instance, aims to /enhance the performance of education systems and to reinforce the international attractiveness of Europe's higher education/,while "An agenda for new skills and jobs" pursues the modernisation of /labour markets by facilitating labour mobility and the development of skills throughout the lifecycle with a view to increase labour participation and better match labour supply and demand/. An intenser reliance on markets or competitive regulatory mechanisms increases the need to involve engineering and economics in their management and regulation more fully. As the EMIN master combines its coursework and research with real life and and the actual needs of network industries, practitioners in related fields may enrol in the masterto enhance their educational and professional development. This would enable them to take advantage of the expertise of EMIN's international faculty, whose distinguished practitioners and academics draw from their long professional experience to create a unique learning environment.
Objectives:
The liberalisation and re-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. In this regard, the EMIN master, aims primarily to convey:
Knowledge: to train highly-qualified professionals able to understand the technological and economic principles of network industries, by delivering an interdisciplinary curriculum that combines engineering and economics courses, adapted to the students' varying backgrounds.
Skills: to provide students with the necessary competences to efficiently apply this knowledge, and to manage and re-regulate network industries in a dynamic, international and evolving framework, whether as in-house staff, on consulting teams, in public bodies such as ministries or development or regulatory agencies, or in research institutions.
Attitudes: to encourage students to work in a multicultural framework, bearing in mind the economic, environmental and social dimensions of network industries management to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.
Profesional profiles & competencies
The main objective of our Masters Course is to produce qualified professionals, able to manage and regulate network industries and infrastructures within the new liberalized framework. These professionals would be either involved in network companies' staff, in consulting teams or in public entities like ministries, development or regulatory agencies. We sincerely think that our program is, for these institutions, one of the best ways to improve their competitiveness and efficiency, not only in Europe and developed countries but also in developing countries. The students following this programme will come out with the following capabilities:
Global understanding of the characteristics of European and global network industries
Deep knowledge of the basics of economic regulation and policy of network industries
Management capabilities applied to network industries
Enough capacity for the technical and economic modelling of network industries
This knowledge, added to the experience gained through the dissertation stage, will make them competent professionals able to actively participate in the efficient management and regulation of network industries, either from the perspective of a private firm or from the regulatory, institutional side. As a proof of this connection with industry and institutions, some students will be required to present their research results n a 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).
Degree
EMIN is currently delivering a multiple diploma, as allowed by the legislation of the participating countries. One of the main aims of the new EMIN renewal within the Erasmus Mundus framework 2009-2013 is to advance the establishment of Joint Degrees.
The EMIN renewal targets a flexible degree mechanism wherein some of the partners will offer a Joint Degree as permitted by their national legislation, while others may offer their own degrees under a Multiple Degree structure.
In Spain, the forthcoming coming into force of the Royal Decree for International Degrees will firmly establish the possibility of an international consortium issuing a Joint Master or Ph.D. Degree that will gain official recognition in Spain. This legislation is expected to come into effect in 2010-2011, and is intended to recognise and accredit Masters awarded together with the Erasmus Mundus label automatically.
To gain a specific Master Degree, all the minimum academic requirements of the hosting institutions must be met irrespective of the pathway followed by a student.
Master degree(s) offered:
Comillas Pontifical University:
PRESENT: Master in Electric Power Industry – Official recognition and accreditation in Spain. In cases where the Joint Degree cannot be issued.
FUTURE: Joint Master in Economics and Management of Network Industries – To be recognised in Spain. Designed for the explicit preferences of those of the EMIN partner Universities willing to be included in this EMIN Joint Degree, as legislation developments allow. This Joint Master Degree could only be established after the approval of the mentioned Royal Decree.
Paris SUD 11 University – Master in Numerical Economics and Network Industries – Official recognition and accreditation in France
Delft University of Technology – Master in Engineering and Policy Analysis – Official recognition and accreditation in the Netherlands
Duration
The EMIN is a two-year joint programme (120 ECTS) with two separate phases:
Training period (90 ECTS): 3 semesters of lectures at the partner universities worth 30 ECTS each.
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.
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 summarised in the following points: international component, renowned partners, interdisciplinary approach, industry connection, experience of the programme, and research career opportunities.Leer menos
