power engineering education in three fast-growing south

july/august 2010 IEEE power & energy magazine 61

WhereSchool Is Cool

Power Engineering Education in Three Fast-Growing South American Energy Markets

By Hugh Rudnick, Rodrigo Palma-Behnke, Sandoval Carneiro, Jr., Tatiana M.L. Assis, Harold Salazar, and Jaime A. Valencia

Digital Object Identifi er 10.1109/MPE.2010.937126

EELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND POWER ENGINEERING are alive and well in Latin America. While IEEE and IEEE Power and Energy Society look for ways to entice high school students in the United States to go into engineering, the demand for engineering slots in Latin American universities grows every year, with the best students in those countries aiming for the profession. The challenge faced by the United States is that in a country of 309 million people, only 800 to 1,000 undergraduates interested in power engineering jobs graduate each year. Brazil, with a population of 192 million, gradu-ates approximately 1,000 power engineers each year. Furthermore, U.S. enrollment in master’s and doctoral programs in power engineering is around 550 per year for each, but roughly 60% of those graduates come from abroad and return to their countries after graduation. In contrast, Brazil trains 120 postgraduates in power engineering each year, and most stay in the country.

Why do these differences exist? It is clearly not a matter of cur-ricula or quality of institutions and education or infrastructure, where the United States may have clear advantages, but one of demand growth along with factors having to do with status and roles. Most Latin Ameri-can countries are experiencing economic development, accompanied by

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62 IEEE power & energy magazine july/august 2010

rapid growth in basic infrastructure (roads, transport, energy, and other civil infrastructure). This must be supported by signifi cant involvement on the part of engineering profes-sionals. Engineers thus have leading roles in society, earn top salaries in relation to other professions, and enjoy high social status. The fi eld attracts the best students. It is not sur-prising that in Chile, several presidents of the country have been engineers and that the incoming president has named six engineers (including one EE) to the 22-member cabinet, including the energy and foreign relations ministers.

But this good news is coupled with an uneasiness in Latin American universities. Many worry that the engineering cur-ricula are outdated and are in need of reform. Engineering students must go through programs lasting fi ve or six years. In Chile, some students may need up to eight years to com-plete their programs. Efforts to reform engineering educa-tion in the United States and Europe around new defi nitions of competencies are having an impact in Latin America, and actions to change curricula and also reduce program lengths are being initiated in Chile and Colombia.

Electricity Markets in Brazil, Chile, and ColombiaElectricity markets in Latin America have higher rates of demand growth than those of Europe and North America. They require a signifi cant investment in electrical infrastruc-ture, one that needs to nearly double every ten years. Figure 1 shows demand patterns and rates of growth for Brazil, Chile, and Colombia since 1991. Growth rates have ranged up to 15% a year, with Chile’s average annual growth stand-ing at 7.2%. Despite the impact of the recent world economic crisis in the region on reducing rates of demand growth and the trend toward more effective energy-effi ciency programs, it is clear that economic growth in these countries will dic-tate increased energy usage, particularly with respect to

electricity. Figure 2 shows how economic development is directly coupled to electricity consumption.

History of Engineering Education in Latin AmericaLatin America’s fi rst universities were established by the Spanish crown under the direction of the Catholic Church. The University of Cordoba in Argentina, for example, was founded by the Jesuits in 1623. Independence from Spain in the early 19th century brought profound changes in the uni-versities as part of a reaction against the colonial legacy that was aimed at transforming the old colonies into independent, modern states. The university models of France and Ger-many had a strong infl uence, the French École des Mines, for example, giving birth to a strong, Napoleonic model (nonconfessional public universities controlled by the state). European universities, professors, and researchers were to have a strong infl uence in these developments.

Besides the Napoleonic character of these new universi-ties, a central concept was developed: institutions of higher education closely linked with the professions, where the pro-fessional schools of law, medicine, and engineering were to dominate over liberal arts, humanities, and science. Higher university education became equivalent to professional edu-cation. Professional schools were created in the region in the last decades of 19th century. As an example, a civil engi-neering program was offi cially created by the government in Chile in 1853 at the Universidad de Chile, itself founded in 1842 (electrical engineering at the Universidad de Chile was only introduced in 1944). In Brazil, universities came into being much later than in the former Spanish colonies; the Universidade do Rio de Janeiro (now Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro) was founded in 1920 and Universidade de São Paulo in 1934.

In time, given the growing economic and cultural inter-actions between the United States and Latin America, close rela-tions began to develop among universities in both areas. Lectur-ers from Latin American univer-sities went en masse for postgrad-uate degrees in the United States. U.S. infl uence grew so strong in Colombia that, for example, electrical engineering at the Uni-versidad de los Andes in Bogota was introduced in 1948 with the requirement that the last year of the program had to be completed in a U.S. university.

The National Educational ModelThe educational model in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia is regulated

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figure 1. Electricity demand growth rates.


by the government through the countries’ respective ministries of education. The system is divided into two levels: basic education and higher education. Figure 3 shows the typical age of students in each stage in the usual trajec-tory in Brazil. An undergraduate engineering program normally has a fi ve-year duration (the exception is Chile, where engineering pro-grams last six years).

Basic education comprises early child education (upbringing, at home or outside home in a day care center), fundamental school, and high school. The upbring-ing phase takes place during the years from birth to the age of 5 and establishes the foundation of human personality, intelligence, emotional life, and socialization. The so-called fundamental school is the second stage of basic education and is directed to students aged 6 to 14. It is essential to the formation of the citizen, as its goals include the full mastery of reading, writ-ing, and calculation. The fundamental school should provide the capacity to learn and to relate in the social and political environment. Its curriculum includes history, geography, sci-

ence, and mathematics. The fundamental school is manda-tory for everyone in the countries discussed.

High school is the last stage of basic education and is directed to students aged 15 to 17. At this point, a student can decide to pursue a professional qualifi cation and study to become a technician or study for the university entrance examinations. The curricula include history, geography,

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figure 2. Electric energy consumption versus GDP (source: IEA).

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figure 3. Brazilian educational structure, regular trajectory (source: Do Coutto et al.).


mathematics, physics, Portuguese, Spanish, English, chem-istry, and biology. In addition, the student is stimulated to develop the capacity for independent learning and to improve communication skills.

Education is offered in both public and private schools. The public institutions in Brazil are completely supported by the various governments (federal, state, and municipal) and do not charge tuition. This is not the case in Chile and Colombia, where universities must charge fees since government support is not suffi cient to fund public uni-versities. Furthermore, in Brazil a generous government scholarship program attracts postgraduate students from all of Latin America and from Portuguese-speaking Afri-can countries.

The duration of undergraduate courses depends on the study area. As noted above, obtaining the engineering degree (equivalent to but more demanding than the U.S. bachelor of science degree) requires about fi ve years, with the exception of Chile, where it takes six years. Earning a degree in economics or architecture takes fi ve years. Medi-cal degrees take longer (six or more years). After the under-graduate degree, in all three countries one can continue to

study towards a master’s degree and then a doctorate. The master’s courses are normally completed within two years and doctorate courses in four years.

Structure of the Engineering DegreeThere are many options for engineering courses in the countries analyzed. Besides the traditional civil, electrical, mechanical, and chemical courses, students can choose to study other curricula, such as computers, biotechnology, mechatronics, and so on. There are also interdisciplinary courses to choose from in areas such as petroleum, environ-mental, and ocean engineering. Figure 4 shows the major engineering fi elds in Brazil, where the electrical fi eld can be divided into power, electronics, and telecommunications. In some institutions, the term electrical is exclusively associ-ated with power engineering, while electronics refers to low-voltage applications. In the case of Chile, control systems, computational intelligence, and robotics are also considered to be electrical degree specializations.

Chile has universal entrance examinations for all engi-neering courses, and the basic classes (e.g., calculus and physics) are taken by all engineering students. After two years, the student selects a fi eld of interest and completes the corresponding program. Brazil had a similar entrance exam system in the past, but nowadays in most institutions application is made directly for the specifi c course of study. Colombia, like Chile, uses universal entrance examinations, but students proceed directly into specifi c programs.

The fi ve-year regular engineering programs in Brazil and Colombia are divided into ten semesters. Chile’s six-year program is divided into 12 semesters; some programs there confer an academic degree (licenciado) after four and a half years (roughly equivalent to the U.S. bachelor’s degree), but all programs confer the professional degree of engineer once the six years of study have been completed. Traditionally, all the six-year engineering programs in Chile confer the degree of civil engineer. This is intended to denote having attained a certain level of expertise, in much the same way the word diploma is used in German engineering degrees. There are neither professional licensing agencies nor exami-nations other than those taken at the university. The six-year program length originated in a tradition of broad educa-tional degrees that can be traced back to the French École des Mines; it provides a solid base of general mathematics and physics for all degrees in engineering.

In a typical fi ve-year engineering program, students have to take courses in math, physics, and chemistry in the fi rst two

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Materials

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Mechanical

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figure 4. Major engineering degrees in Brazil.

In general, engineers enjoy a great deal of prestige in Latin America, and their contributions are recognized both in terms of salaries as well as societal status.


years. The number of such classes depends on the engineer-ing program. For instance, industrial engineering programs (it is called production engineering in Brazil), which are more business-oriented, include relatively less physics and chemistry; electrical power engineering programs, on the other hand, often include a strong emphasis on mathematics and physics. The third year usually covers topics in general engineering, such as circuit theory. The last two years are dedicated to courses directly related to the particular engi-neering program (e.g., electrical engineering) and specifi c branches within it (such as power). During the fi fth year, a fi nal project is required in order to integrate the student’s knowledge. This can consist of research, an internship, or an activity related to the curriculum. Social and humanities studies can also be undertaken during the program and usu-ally are not assigned to a particular semester. These courses are broad in scope and can include administration, history, law, economics, and so on. They are seen as a complement to the student’s education; the particular program determines which subjects to emphasize.

Power engineering is not necessarily a separate degree program. Often it is one particular set of optional courses within a general electrical engineering degree that a student chooses to follow, combined with a fi nal project that focuses on this fi eld. Some students choose a track focused on power systems, while others follow one related to industry appli-cations, including control systems, power electronics, and machine drives. The optional courses usually vary substan-tially from institution to institution. In most cases, the deci-sion to offer a given course depends on the availability of specialized lecturers. Table 1 gives an overview of the main courses that would be included in power engineering cur-ricula in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia. Figure 5 shows the typical structure of a power engineering course in Brazil. In “Electricity Markets in Power Engineering Education,” we describe how power engineering curricula in Chile and Colombia have incorporated new courses or adapted exist-ing course contents to include topics having to do with elec-tricity markets.

The Status of Engineers in Society and Entrance to the UniversityIn general, engineers enjoy a great deal of prestige in Latin America, and their contributions are recognized both in terms of salaries as well as societal status. This is confi rmed by the fact that engineers occupy high managerial and tech-nical positions in both industry and government. Engineer-

ing is seen as a modern career, focused on the development of products and infrastructure for the society. A recent Bra-zilian survey of public perceptions of engineers indicated that pursuing engineering is considered quite diffi cult, as it involves lots of mathematics and physics; the engineer is seen as someone of high intelligence. Moreover, receiving an engineering education is perceived as something that multiplies a person’s professional possibilities, allowing one to work in several areas and even outside engineering, in situations where logical reasoning, creativity, and objectiv-ity are important. It is not unusual to fi nd big companies governed by engineers, and several Latin American national leaders have been engineers.

These societal perceptions and the opportunities engi-neers actually fi nd in the labor market make engineering a very attractive alternative for the best students graduating from high school. The factors that infl uence the process of choosing a career can be divided into aptitude, convenience, and image. Aptitude is related to natural talents that enable certain people to perform a given complex activity with greater ease than other people. Convenience involves eco-nomics (e.g., salaries), career status, and regional aspects (e.g., ease of access to university and jobs). And image is a factor highly correlated with the prospect of potential suc-cess. It includes the reputation of one’s school and the admi-ration received for one’s specifi c professional contributions to society.

Figure 6 shows the minimum scores on the Chilean national admission test for students accepted into various pro-grams in 2009 at Universidad Catolica de Chile and Universi-dad de Chile. The scores are calculated for a sample of 3,296 students. Although engineering admits a larger number of students than law and medicine, it requires a higher score. The lowest-scoring of the 90 students admitted to the medi-cal school at Universidad Catolica de Chile would have been ranked 132nd if the student had applied to engineering.

These preferences vary among the three countries ana-lyzed, although medicine, law, and engineering continue to be among the careers preferred by students. What is clear is that there is no lack of interest in the region in engineering education, including electrical engineering. Figure 7 com-pares the number of registered students in various engineer-ing areas in Brazil, where electrical engineering includes power, electronics, and telecommunications. Figure 8 shows the number of graduate degrees awarded in electrical engi-neering from 2004 to 2008; the blue line indicates the aver-age number over the period.

These societal perceptions and the opportunities engineers actually find in the labor market make engineering a very attractive alternative for the best students graduating from high school.


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The job market also demon-strates the high status engineers have in society. The highest sala-ries in Chile are paid to mining, industrial, and electrical engineers; medicine has also been a highly paid profession (see Figure 9).

What about power engineering? A number of facts suggest there will be a high demand for power engineers in the region. Opportu-nities are increasing as economies are growing, correlated power sys-tems and markets are mounting, and interconnections among dif-ferent countries are in operation. In addition, new technologies are being incorporated as countries explore renewable energy sources with less environmental impact, and the free trade agreements made by countries in the region with the European Union and the United States require a new and more specialized labor force in order to increase the competitiveness of the power sector.

Nevertheless, economic recessions have had an impact on engineering job opportunities in the past. In the 1980s, when Brazil was facing economic recession, there was little interest in careers related to infrastructure, such as those in civil construction and the energy sector. This led to a sub-stantial decrease in the number of engineering graduates when compared with the other professions. In the last few years, however, economic activities have resumed a growth trend, and there is an urgent need for specialized person-nel. Furthermore, many students who complete engineering programs are attracted to other areas such as administration and fi nance. The Brazilian federal government, aiming at a faster-growing economy, created a task force with members from government, academia, and industry to propose a program (INOVA Engenharia) whose goal is to increase from 30,000 to 100,000 the number of engineers graduated each year in Brazil.

Postgraduate Power Engineering ProgramsPostgraduate programs in elec-trical engineering and in power engineering exist in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia. We describe the Brazilian postgraduate programs in “Postgraduate Power Engineer-ing Education in Brazil.”

In the 1960s, Chile had an electrical engineering post-graduate program supported by the Organization of Amer-ican States at Universidad de Chile and another supported by the German government at Universidad Federico Santa Maria. Both faded over time, however, as postgraduates were simply not in demand. As conditions changed, Uni-versidad Catolica de Chile took the lead and began a mas-ter’s program in 1983 and a doctoral program in 1992; both included the electrical power concentration. Today, that graduate program has become the largest in Chile in the field of technology, with a cohort of more than 450 students. The government supports the doctoral program with scholarships via its National Science Foundation, but real competition to local programs has arisen recently

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figure 5. The typical power engineering course structure in Brazil.

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figure 6. Minimum admission scores for various university careers in Chile.


with the institution of a very generous scholarship pro-gram for postgraduate studies abroad. First-class students prefer to go to North America and Europe for their post-graduate education.

In Colombia, postgraduate programs in electrical engi-neering are of recent vintage; there are currently seven graduate programs. The fi rst master’s degree program in electrical engineering in Colombia was established at the Universidad Industrial de Santander in 1985. Doctoral programs were established beginning in 1991 and have

grown rapidly, but they need to be consolidated. The govern-ment has given economic incen-tives to various students via its National Science Foundation to obtain doctoral degrees abroad; they must make a commitment to return to the country, teach in a university (undergraduate and graduate programs), do research and facilitate the consolidation of doctoral programs. The commit-ment lasts fi ve years on average. The number of engineers with

doctorates teaching at Colombian universities, while still low with respect to other countries, has increased because of such incentives.

Table 2 shows the typical course structure of the graduate-level power engineering programs in Chile and Colombia.

The Need for Educational ReformEfforts to reform engineering education in the United States and Europe around new definitions of compe-tencies have also reached Latin America, coupled with criticism of a rigid and inefficient university educational system characterized by the predominance of long pro-grams with limited entry and exit points. As indicated, Chile has a six-year engineering program and Brazil and Colombia a five-year one, while in the United States the bachelor of science in engineering is a four-year degree. The Bologna Declaration, signed in 1999 by the ministers of 29 European countries, has been an important refer-ence point in this discussion. Bologna aims at integrating higher education across Europe by means of a common framework of readable and comparable degrees; it fore-sees implementing a two-cycle system in series, based on three- to four-year bachelor of science and graduate

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figure 8. Number of graduate degrees awarded in electri-cal engineering in Brazil, 2004–2008.

figure 9. Comparison of expected salary levels for various professions in Chile.

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Power system deregulation and restructuring began in Latin

America, with Chile and Colombia being two main reform driv-

ers. These two countries restructured electricity energy mar-

kets in 1982 and 1994, respectively. The changes demanded that

power engineers adapt to the new working environment, one in

which technical expertise had to be coupled with a strong back-

ground in economics.

The various power engineering curricula in those two coun-

tries have therefore incorporated new courses or adapted exist-

ing course contents to include topics having to do with elec-

tricity markets. The impact of power restructuring on power

education varies according to the program. Some programs are

more focused on analyzing how the market affects system oper-

ation. Other programs are more business-oriented and include,

for instance, courses in corporate finance and administration.

Regardless of the approach, introductions to microeconomic

theory and finance are needed, and they have been suggested

by practitioners as complements to the power engineering cur-

riculum or as program content. In the short term, topics in elec-

tric power restructuring have been gradually incorporated into

most of the university power programs.

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile was in a privileged

position to act as a proactive leader in education in the field of

power markets. It has a six-year undergraduate program that in-

tegrates both traditional electrical engineering with economics

and business administration. The program confers a profession-

al degree in industrial engineering with a diploma in electrical

engineering. The program’s main components are described in

Figure S1, representing a total of 570 course credits. (One credit

represents a workload of about one hour per week, either in

classes, study sessions, or homework. Most courses carry ten

credits, and the normal course load is 40 to 50 credits or four to

five courses per semester.) A licenciatura (roughly equivalent

to a U.S. bachelor’s degree) in engineering sciences is awarded

when 420 credits are completed, after four and half years.

These curriculum components include 170 credits (about

1.8 years) of a combination of college-level mathematics and

basic science appropriate to the discipline; 320 credits (about

3.4 years) of engineering topics, consisting of engineering sci-

ences and engineering design appropriate to the field of elec-

trical engineering, including 90 credits (about 0.9 years) in

engineering management; and 80 credits (about 0.8 years) of

general education that complements the technical content of

the curriculum.

The electrical engineering components of the curricu-

lum deliver the scientific bases and applied knowledge de-

manded by the field. The specialized courses aim to provide

students with fundamental and advanced knowledge in the

electrical engineering field and related areas and also to

prepare them for later independent study and professional

Electricity Markets in Power Engineering Education

Basic Sciences (170 Credits)

Internship I (0 Credits)

Internship II (0 Credits)

Professional TitleExamination/Project (0 Credits)

Writing ProficiencyExamination (0 Credits)

English ProficiencyAccreditation (0 Credits)

Licenciatura DegreeExamination (0 Credits)

General Education (80 Credits)

Engineering Sciences (40 Credits)

Electrical Engineering (Licenciatura) (90 Credits)

Core Engineering Management (Licenciatura) (40 Credits)

Core Engineering Management (Professional Title) (50 Credits)

Electrical Engineering (Professional Title) (50 Credits)

Depth Electives (50 Credits)

figure S1. Components of curricula for industrial engineering with a diploma in electrical engineering.

(Continued)


development throughout their careers. Students interested in

power receive a thorough education in basic electricity but

also choose electives in the area. These may include electrical

generation, economic dispatch, electrical systems planning,

distribution systems, electricity markets, electric traction, and

power electronics.

One element of the curriculum that is attractive to the power

industry is that it also contains courses in management science

aimed at delivering high-level training in operations research,

economics, and finance and business management. These

courses, coupled with the technical electrical material, provide

tools that let students work in many different environments:

they can work at power companies, in industry, as consultants,

in regulatory bodies, and so on.

In 1996, Universidad Catolica de Chile created a course

dedicated entirely to electricity markets that was conceived as

an optional course and has attracted from the start the highest

number of registered students among all optional courses in

electrical engineering. The course covers the technical, eco-

nomic, and regulatory processes of deregulation and the in-

troduction of market concepts in the electricity sector; it gives

particular emphasis to the analysis of examples, electricity

laws, and practical applications in specific Latin American con-

texts. The students are trained to analyze these processes and

the relevant regulatory frameworks, mastering the important

factors and the various technical and economic constraints.

They are thus capable of participating in the analysis of mar-

kets, regulatory developments, and tariff studies. The course

provides a basic microeconomic and industrial organization

background; reviews different regulatory structures and tariff

schemes; studies in detail the generation, transmission, and

distribution segments; and reviews specific electricity laws and

bylaws. Talks by power industry specialists are integrated. Stu-

dents perform basic literature and Internet research in specific

User

http://146.83.6.25/be/index.htmGenerating Companies

Internet

DatabaseWeb Server

Servidor

Deep Edit

Market Operator

MarketArchitecture

Model

ClearingMarket Process

Database (mdb)

Results Via e-Mail Via Web Page

http://146.83.6.25/be/2008/FASE0/Resultados01_10_08.htm

Precio(mills)

Precio(mills)

Energia(Mwh)

Energia(Mwh)

PT3

PT3

Oferta deCompra deEnergia

Oferta deVenta deEnergia

PT2

PT2

PT1

PT1

ET1

ET1

ET2

ET2

ET3

ET3

Consumer Companies

figure S2. Web-based platform for the PX simulator.

degrees. The primary challenge of engineering education in Latin America is to figure out how to rethink the com-petencies of engineers in the region and in each country.

Chile has begun taking steps to reform the structure and organization of university engineering curricula. These steps are aimed at defi ning more effective classroom lectures andprocedures and reducing the excessive length of civil engi-neering programs, which stands in the way of young profes-sionals’ entrance into to the work force and makes it harder for them to contemplate enrolling in specialist programs at

the graduate level. Universidad Catolica de Chile was the fi rst university in the country to convert its engineering program to a fi ve-year duration. This decision was very much based on the university’s long working relationship with ABET and the implementation of ABET’s EC2000 cri-teria. By contrast, Universidad de Chile has decided to main-tain its six-year electrical engineer degree, but it is intro-ducing a completely new curriculum. Some institutions in Colombia are considering reducing the bachelor’s program by one year, leaving the fi fth year for optional postgraduate


subjects, with the goal of achieving a better understanding of

electricity markets. Reports are published online (at www.ing.

puc.cl/power/publications/students.htm) and, surprisingly, are

used by many people outside the university as a means of famil-

iarizing themselves with the technical subjects covered. Finally,

a computer simulation of the evolution of the Chilean market

over the next ten years is required, with the goal of cultivating

an understanding of the variables that condition prices in the

wholesale market.

Interactive Tools for Education in Power Markets

There is already a great variety of professional software focused

on the technical study of power systems, i.e., power flow, pro-

tection, optimal power flow, contingencies, and stability. The

challenge of recent years has been the creation of tools to simu-

late realistic electricity markets. Latin America universities have

been contributing to this effort. As a sample, we describe two

initiatives developed at Universidad de Chile.

Power Exchange Game Among Universities

Based on a computational Web platform and a simulator of

electricity markets, an experimental economics approach

has been developed to build a tool to teach power markets

(http://146.83.6.25/be/index.htm). The simulator is based on

the Spanish wholesale electricity market (PX). Groups of stu-

dents from different Chilean universities operate as market

agents and have the freedom to create their own strategies

for buying or selling energy in the day-ahead market, with the

objective of maximizing their own profits. Figure S2 shows

the Web-based platform. The system data are based on the

market structure of the Chilean wholesale electricity market.

This educational tool has been used for several years,

with students participating from Universidad de Chile, Uni-

versidad Catolica de Chile, and Universidad de Santiago de

Chile. Groups from the three universities use the tool in four

consecutive phases. A simple, nonrestrictive phase begins

the game. Then, with each four-day phase, the complexity of

the bidding mechanism and system constraints is increased.

Each day, the market operator posts the public results of

figure S3. Deep-Edit’s graphic user interface.

figure S4. Deep-Edit’s market editor.

work, but this proposal has faced strong opposition and is still being debated.

Another problem faced in the higher educational sys-tems in these Latin American countries has been the too lightly controlled proliferation of universities. The case of Colombia offers a good example. The Colombian government gave an incentive to public higher education in the 1970s by increasing the number of higher education programs and also provided inducements for the enroll-ment of students. Engineering programs were established

at an accelerating rate, both in number and subspecialties. Power engineering programs were no exception. Each spe-cialty was established as a separate engineering program. By 1990, Colombia had more engineering programs than many of the developed countries do. Such a proliferation of universities and unregulated programs created the need for an accreditation system within higher education. Another consequence has been that graduate engineers currently outnumber technicians. Similar developments took place in Chile in the 1990s.

(Continued)


the clearing process and also the private commitments and

incomes of each participant. Based on the performance of

the students, characterizations of the strategic behavior

of agents and their impact on the evolution of the market

price are made and analyzed. In phase four, when transmis-

sion constraints are introduced, market power exercised

by several groups in the game, may be identified. Usually

market power may be performed by the largest generator

companies modeled in the game. The learning curve and

the rational behavior of the market agents are identified and

modeled through the process and used in grading the work

of each group.

This interactive tool has proven that games of this kind, with

an experimental economics character, offer an adequate mech-

anism for explaining the observed phenomena in a real environ-

ment. Students have made positive evaluations of the contribu-

tion of this type of tool in their professional training process.

Future development of the tool will focus on the integration of

congestion management mechanisms in the bidding process

and a more complex offer structure.

Simulation Framework for

Technical and Market-Oriented Analysis

The deregulation process of the power industry has implied

the need to better integrate the analysis of the technical and

economic elements of power systems. Educational tools also

need to adapt to this new framework. An educational platform

called Deep-Edit (see http://146.83.6.25/deepedit/English/In-

dex_En.htm) has been developed to articulately manage eco-

nomic and technical issues. The system, used both in and out of

the classroom, integrates a platform based on Java technology

that constructs a system description through electric network,

market, hydrographic, and geographic representations (see Fig-

ures S3 and S4). The educational package contains a library of

power system analysis applications divided into technical and

market-oriented tools. The technical tools comprise computa-

tions such as load flow, optimal power flow, sensitivity analy-

sis, and parameters calculation. They are complemented by the

market-oriented applications, which add pricing models (Figure

S5 shows how spot prices are represented visually), transmis-

sion expansion planning, uni- and multinodal power exchange,

hydrothermal coordination, and market power evaluation. As

a result, it is possible, for example, to perform studies for the

use of alternative transmission-pricing schemes in the Chilean

hydrothermal market. The tool has been successfully used to

improve research and educational activities in power markets.

figure S5. Deep-Edit’s representation of spot prices.

Accreditation schemes were ur -gently needed and were developed very quickly; some are still in the process of implementation. The National Accreditation System was created in Colombia as a quality control mechanism in the first half of the 1990s. The mechanism was proposed by the government and the ten most prestigious universi-ties, and it is coordinated by the National Accreditation Council of Colombia’s ministry of education. The model for assessing the qual-ity of engineering programs is still

table 2. Typical structure of graduate power programs in Chile and Colombia.

Core CoursesTraditional Elective Courses

Courses on Current Topics of Interest

• Power system analysis • Power system planning • Power systems economics

• Power system operation and control

• Power system reliability

• Power system markets and regulation

• Power system optimization

• Power system dynamics

• Corporate finances

• Power electronics • Industrial organization • Protection • Application of intelligent

systems• Power system

transients • Renewable energy

• Distribution• Electrical machines


voluntary. That is, accreditation for engineering pro-grams is not required. But in the early years of this cen-tury the government issued new decrees that established minimum standards of quality for engineering programs offered by any educational institution. The minimum

quality standards are mandatory. These regulations and the accreditation process have improved the quality of higher education in Colombia. There are currently 11 engineering programs that have been accredited as high-quality programs.

Postgraduate programs in power engineering in Brazil have

undergone a significant expansion in the last 20 years.

While in 1990 only six institutions offered courses at the

doctoral level, doctoral programs are now available at 22

institutions. Figure S6 presents the evolution of the number

of graduate programs that offer doctoral-level courses with

research areas in power engineering.

Table 1 lists the institutions that offer graduate courses

(master’s and doctoral degrees) with research areas in pow-

er engineering. The table shows the year in which master’s

(M.Sc.) and doctoral (D.Sc.) programs were offered for the

first time.

The Federal Agency for Evaluation and Support of Gradu-

ate Education (CAPES) conducts the evaluation of all gradu-

ate programs in the country. Every three years, the programs

are evaluated in accordance with a number of criteria, such as

the academic qualifications of faculty members, publications,

Ph.D. thesis and M.Sc. dissertations, relevant technical contri-

butions, and so on. Some 800 peer review members are in-

vited to conduct the evaluation in all areas of knowledge. Each

course is graded on a scale from 1 to 7. These grades are meant

to be interpreted as follows: 1 (poor), 2 (weak), 3 (acceptable),

4 (good), and 5 (very good). Grades 6 and 7 are reserved for

programs of excellence whose performance is considered by

the committees to be outstanding. In order to be accredited,

a course must have received a grade of at least 3, in which

case the degrees awarded will have national validity. The last

column of Table S1 shows the grades from the last evaluation

exercise, in 2007.

From 2003 to 2008, an annual average of 1,129 students

successfully completed electrical engineering specialization

(M.Sc. or D.Sc.), as shown in Figure S7. Figure S8 shows the

degrees awarded in power engineering, with an annual aver-

age of 120 from 2003 to 2008.

Postgraduate Power Engineering Education in Brazil

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

figure S6. Evolution of the number of graduate programs at doctoral level in power engineering.


For Further ReadingM. B. Do Coutto Filho, A. M. Leite da Silva, and M. T. Schil-ling, “Power engineering education in Brazil: Prospects and related issues,” IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 1286–1292, Aug. 1991.

G. Karady, G. T. Heydt, M. Michel, P. Crossley, H. Rud-nick, and S. Iwamoto, “Review of power engineering edu-cation worldwide,” in Proc. IEEE Summer Power Meeting,Edmonton, AB, July 1999, vol. 2, pp. 906–915.

S. Schwartzman, “Policies for higher education in Latin America: The context,” Higher Educ., vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 9–20, Jan. 1993.

BiographiesHugh Rudnick is with Pontifi cia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile.

Rodrigo Palma-Behnke is with Universidad de Chile, Chile.

Sandoval Carneiro, Jr. is with CAPES, Brazil.Tatiana M.L. Assis is with Universidade Federal Flu-

minense, Brazil.Harold Salazar is with Universidad Tecnológica de

Pereira, Colombia.Jaime A. Valencia is with Universidad de Antioquía,

Colombia. p&e

table S1. Power engineering graduate courses in Brazilian institutions.

Institutions Acronym

First YearGrade(CAPES—2007)M.Sc. D.Sc.

1. Federal University of Rio de Janeiro COPPE/UFRJ 1966 1973 72. State University of Campinas UNICAMP 1972 1972 73. Federal University of Campina Grande UFCG 1970 1979 64. Federal University of Minas Gerais UFMG 1972 1995 65. University of São Paulo USP 1968 1970 66. Engineering School of São Carlos USP/SC 1975 1997 67. Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro PUC-RJ 1963 1981 68. Federal University of Santa Catarina UFSC 1971 1987 69. Federal University of Pernambuco UFPE 1978 2000 510. Federal University of Itajubá UNIFEI 1968 1995 511. State University Júlio de Mesquita Filho UNESP/IS 1992 1999 512. Federal University of Santa Maria UFSM 1974 1999 513. Federal University of Pará UFPA 1986 1998 414. Federal University of Ceará UFC 1999 2006 415. Federal University of Maranhão UFMA 1995 2009 416. Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte UFRN 1983 2000 417. University of Brasília UnB 1979 2000 418. Federal University of Juiz de Fora UFJF 1998 2009 419. Federal University of Uberlândia UFU 1985 1994 420. Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul UFRGS 1998 2004 421. Federal University of Bahia UFBA 1994 2009 422. Federal University of Espírito Santo UFES 1991 1997 3

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Num

ber

of G

radu

atio

ns

D.Sc.M.Sc.

figure S7. Number of degrees awarded in electrical engineering (M.Sc. and D.Sc.).

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

160

140

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Num

ber

of G

radu

atio

ns

D.Sc.M.Sc.

figure S8. Number of graduations in power engineering (M.Sc. and D.Sc.).

power engineering education in three fast-growing south

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