Ørsted is offering three MSc scholarships of up to £6000 at Durham University

Ørsted is offering three scholarships of up to £6000 each for outstanding UK and EU students wanting to undertake energy-related studies at Masters level.   

The two courses available, an MSc in Energy and Society and an MSc in New and Renewable Energy, both at Durham University, will begin in October 2018 and applications must be submitted by 15 July 2018. 

Ørsted is the global leader in offshore wind and its operations in the UK also includes other renewable technologies such as batteries and biogas, as well as providing green energy to UK businesses. 

The strategic partnership with Durham University includes collaboration with Durham Energy Institute Researchers on a number of research projects and activities, as well as funding for the Chair of Renewable Energy position at the university. This is the fifth year Ørsted is offering scholarships for these MSc courses.

Matthew Wright, Ørsted’s UK Managing Director, said: “The UK is currently the global leader in offshore wind, but the industry is innovating and growing at such a fast pace we must continue to invest in new research and development to maintain this leadership position." 

“Our long-standing partnership with Durham University is not only producing cutting-edge research that is being directly applied and tested within industry, it is also providing opportunities for bright people who otherwise may not have been able to progress to the next stage of their energy studies.

“Supporting students at post-graduate level complements the educational work we do with school pupils. We want to attract great minds to this industry; it’s a fantastic time to join, so much is changing and there are plenty of opportunities for ambitious people to make a real difference.”

Jon Gluyas, Professor of Carbon Capture and Storage and Durham Energy Institute Director, said: “We are delighted that Ørsted is continuing to support energy training at Durham University continuing our long strategic partnership in high-quality research, knowledge exchange and teaching in energy. These scholarships will enable promising students to join our programmes who we believe could become future leaders in transforming energy across the world. 

“Innovation in energy is fundamental to raising standards of living across the globe, tackling climate change and achieving our shared development goals.  We believe that developing high quality students who have a holistic understanding of energy technologies and their impacts on society and can communicate across sectors is fundamental to achieving this ambition. Our energy Masters courses provide this essential knowledge and understanding.”

Neil MacDougall, a Fleet Operations Engineer at Ørsted, completed his masters in New & Renewable Energy in September 2014. 

He said: “I wanted to do a masters in renewable energy so I could join the sector, and help make positive, tangible changes to the world.

“Having the masters meant I was able to get a job working in the renewables industry right after I completed the course. Without the scholarship I wouldn’t have been able to afford it. The course had good links with industry, so was geared towards real life applications; it was really valuable for me to join the sector knowing not just theory, but the shape of the industry and the key companies involved. 

“I’m now actually working at Ørsted, completely by coincidence, having had previous roles in RWE Innogy and Romax Technology.”

How to apply:

The deadline for Ørsted scholarship applications is 15th July 2018. By the deadline, candidates must have completed a Durham University MSc application and have sent a 400-500 word supporting statement of why they should be considered for a scholarship to:

• anth.postgrad-studies@durham.ac.uk for MSc Energy and Society applicants
• eng.pgadmissions@durham.ac.uk for MSc New and Renewable Energy course.

The MSc Energy and Society course, in association with the Durham Energy Institute, is an innovative postgraduate programme designed to appeal across the disciplines. The programme draws on leading experts in energy studies at Durham from Anthropology, Engineering, Geography, Physics, Economics, Humanities and other departments. It is taught through intensive block-teaching, group field-study, original dissertation research and a range of optional modules designed to complement the core teaching. Find out more about the MSc Energy and Society course.

The MSc New and Renewable Energy course is designed to equip our graduates with the skills required to meet the growing challenge to achieve energy and environmental sustainability through the application of new and renewable energy technologies. The programme aims to enable students to develop the capacity to solve problems across the traditional Engineering boundaries and to have an appreciation of complete energy systems from source to end user, to have knowledge of the relevant technologies and to understand the interactions between them. The programme also provides students with the opportunity to develop skills in research, development, design and project management through individual and team-based project work. Find out more about the MSc New and Renewable Energy course.

You can also find out about other studentships and bursaries available to MSc students at Durham's Postgraduate Funding Database.