EngD studentship W5P4 – Prioritising Sustainable Energy Choice in Cities



Funding – The studentship covers UCL tuition fees and provides a stipend of £15,726 pa (tax-free)

Funding Body: EPSRC

In partnership with the European Investment Bank and the UCL Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, the UCL Centre for Urban Sustainability and Resilience invites applications for a four year (one year MRes and three year EngD) studentship to work on an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK funded project.

The study aims to determine a practical approach to produce integrated action plans enabling cities to manage and invest more effectively their infrastructure to achieve long-term impacts in energy and climate action (e.g. insulated and efficient buildings, efficient public lighting, sustainable transport, electricity generation/network, municipal water and wastewater infrastructure, solid waste management, district heating and cooling, etc.).

Several tools exist to assist cities in producing integrated city energy action plans of this type.[1]  We will critically review the existing tools and define and consolidate a new methodology to achieve overall long-term energy sustainable plans. Crucially for the EIB, the proposed methodology will address how such investment strategies can be structured, including how associated risks can be characterised, in order to attract funding from long-term investors. The data for the research will be provided by the EIB.

A properly structured “toolbox” will be the outcome of the research in order to assist cities in producing implementable integrated energy action plans for achieving sustainable energy impacts and to minimise associated financial risks. The toolbox will examine various types of technologies best suited for urban environments, required standards and associated urban patterns, e.g. demographic profiles, natural resource constraints, and impacts of technical progress and sectorial policies. Based on the selected technologies, we will identify energy-related strategies that will be linked to city development scenarios and risk priorities.

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The candidate must have a first in her/his undergraduate degree and at least a 2.1 in a Master’s degree. It is highly desirable if the candidate has a combination between undergraduate and Master degree of the following disciplines: Econometrics, Economics, and Finance, Engineering Science, Operational Research, Mathematics, Applied Physics, and Statistics. 

Applicants must meet the EPSRC eligibility criteria http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/skills/students/help/Pages/eligibility.aspx

Start Date: 23rd September 2013 for 4-years full time (no part time option available).

For more information about the project vacancy and how to apply, please visit  http://engd-usar.cege.ucl.ac.uk/vacancies/ and upload a covering letter and CV indicating how you meet the criteria and demonstrating your passion for the research.

Informal enquiries may be made to Dr Francesca Medda (f.medda(at)ucl.ac.uk)

Closing Date: 5pm on Wednesday 1st May 2013. 

[1] For instance city-level energy action plans, which aim to give a strategic approach for cities to invest in sustainable energy projects, have been developed across Europe, e.g. the European Commission’s Covenant of Mayors initiative. The World Bank’s ESMAP RAF (Energy Sector Management Assistance Program – Rapid Assessment Framework) offers an approach to cities to quickly assess their energy performance and is designed to present an easily implementable, high-level multi-sector analysis on city energy use.

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