Program Description
In this 6-week, 6-credit program, you’ll study and live at Polytechnic University of Valencia in the hilltop university town of Alcoy, Spain. You’ll take day trips to Valencia, Bocairent, and Xativa; enjoy a 4-day weekend in Granada and Toledo; and spend the final two days of the program in Madrid.
The 2023 program will be led by Notre Dame Professor Peter Burns in conjunction with a local Alcoy university professor.
This summer experience is open to all engineering students.
Courses
All students enroll in both of the following courses for a total of 6 engineering credits.
- EG 34440: Probability and Statistics (3 credits)
- EG 44xxx: Sustainability and Resilience of Energy Systems and Supplies (3 credits)
The Probability and Statistics course looks at the techniques that engineers use to address uncertainty in the design and analysis of engineering artifacts. At the core of these techniques is probability, a branch of applied mathematics that provides structure for analyzing “random experiments” – actions whose outcome cannot be predicted with certainty in advance. Statistics provides a bridge between probability and the “real world,” where (imperfect and incomplete) data must be gathered and conclusions or inferences must be drawn from that data.
Human living standards are directly correlated with energy availability and consumption. About 1 billion people in the world today have no access to electricity, at least another billion have unreliable electricity and often only enough to power a few light bulbs, and more than two billion people cook food over open fires.
This technical-oriented but accessible to-all-course (Sustainability and Resilience of Energy Systems and Supplies) focuses on the history, evolution, and current deployment of energy systems worldwide. Emphases are on the utilization, limitations, and drawbacks of world energy supplies, including fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables relative to sustainability and resilience. Case studies will include the electrical grid failure in Puerto Rico during and after hurricane Maria, the nuclear plant accidents at Fukushima (Japan) and Chernobyl (Ukraine), conflicts related to energy, and the changing energy mix of the local country/city where the course is taught.
Dates
May 22 – July 1
Housing
Modern dorms at Polytechnic University of Valencia.
Program Fee
The cost of the 2023 program is $8,800, plus a $250 University Study Abroad Administration Fee.
The program fee includes the cost of 6 Notre Dame engineering credits; accommodations for six weeks; meals in the dining hall on program days during the week; roundtrip transportation from Madrid to Alcoy; GeoBlue international health insurance; all program academic outings and field trips; and on-site program support from Notre Dame faculty.
It does not include the cost of airfare, weekend meals; passport/visa fees; international cell phone/plan; or personal spending money.
All students are considered for need-based engineering scholarships to help underwrite program costs.
Apply
Applications will be accepted between September 22, 2022 and November 1, 2022.
Program assignments and waitlist notifications occur before Christmas break.
Questions?
Feel free to contact:
Michael Kitz
Executive Director, Summer Engineering International Programs
mkitz@nd.edu
Todd Taylor
Director, Summer Engineering International Programs
ttaylo24@nd.edu