Double Bachelor's degree: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and Bachelor’s degree in Energy and Sustainability Engineering

The Double Degree in Mechanical Engineering and Energy and Sustainability Engineering (GEESGEM) is an itinerary that allows simultaneous and complete studies of the Degree in Energy Engineering and Sustainability (GEES) and the Degree in Mechanical Engineering (GEM), which They are taught respectively at the Higher Polytechnic School of the University of Lleida.

A student who successfully completes this itinerary will obtain the Bachelor's degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Bachelor's Degree in Energy Engineering and Sustainability with their corresponding European Supplements in the Title.

On the one hand, the bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering has a general nature that will allow the graduate to enter the job market in the wide range of activities currently developed by the graduate in Industrial Technical Engineering, specializing in Mechanics. This last degree, which is extinguished with degrees, began at EPS in the 1997/98 academic year. Thus, twenty-three years of experience endorse the EPS teaching team.

On the other hand, according to the forecasts of the International Energy Agency, the use of energy in the world will increase by a third until 2040 (World Energy Outlook 2015), mainly due to economic and demographic growth in developing countries. On the other hand, the current energy system based on fossil resources is unsustainable due to the limited availability of these resources, as well as their environmental impact. Therefore, the transition to a new energy model that guarantees universal access to affordable, safe, sustainable and modern energy is one of the great challenges that society will have to face in the coming years. In Catalonia, the National Pact for the Energy Transition aims to achieve an energy model based 100% on renewable energies by the 2050 horizon and meet the objectives of the new Clean Energy for Ajo Europeans package of the European Union.

Therefore, it will be necessary to train the general population in the new energy scenario. This training will not only be at a technical level but it will have to involve important mentality changes to understand and accept the new situation. In this sense, it will be necessary to integrate the concepts of energy efficiency and renewable energies at all educational levels. Thus, the need for adequately prepared professionals who lead the transition of the energy model and are also capable of communicating to society the ideas of sustainability and rational use of resources is evident.

The double degree in Mechanical Engineering and the Degree in Energy Engineering and Sustainability female access, among others, to the Master in Industrial Engineering taught at the EPS, which enables the profession of industrial engineer.

A student who successfully completes this itinerary will obtain the Bachelor's degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Bachelor's Degree in Energy and Sustainability Engineering with their corresponding European Supplements in the Title.

The opportunity and interest of this proposal are based on the following aspects:

• Professional profile.

This double degree aims to train engineers with a profile that combines conventional mechanical engineering knowledge with energy and sustainability knowledge that have been gaining prominence in recent years. These are complementary aspects that cannot be dissociated at present in the professional practice of engineering.

• Studies of interest to students.

Students will be able to obtain two undergraduate degrees in five years, both with significant labor demand, achieving an attractive professional profile for the business sector, which will facilitate their incorporation into the labor market. In addition, students who take this double degree will obtain the professional attributions of the Degree in Mechanical Engineering and that qualifies them for the exercise of the profession of Industrial Technical Engineer.

• Highly rated students.

These studies are aimed at students with a good academic record and a high degree of involvement and motivation for their studies.

• Unique academic profile.

Currently, this double degree is not being offered chiefly by another Catalan university, which allows the UdL to offer a unique training in its environment.

Lleida is strategically located with respect to the main energy production centers in Catalonia. On the one hand, it should be noted that the large hydroelectric power plants of the Pyrenees are located in the province of Lleida, which generate 70% of the electricity of hydraulic origin in Catalonia. In the surrounding regions in the city of Lleida (Garrigues, Pla d'Urgell, Segrià) the main photovoltaic area of ​​Catalonia is concentrated, due to its favorable weather conditions, with 44% of Catalan production and with excellent prospects for growth . The production of energy from agricultural forest residues and slurry is also important (66% of the Catalan total). Likewise, it is necessary to highlight the proximity in the town of Ascó (in the province of Tarragona, but located 60 km from Lleida), where two nuclear power plants are located and that, with an installed power greater than 2000 MW, is the first electric power producing center of Catalonia.

At the level of the Higher Polytechnic School, the fact that it houses the INSPIRES Research Center (Polytechnic Institute of Research and Innovation in Sustainability) stands out. INSPIRES is a multidisciplinary group that pays special attention to research around the best energy management, efficiency, usability, security, high-performance computing and problem solving and optimization, among other topics. All with common links, revolving around the field of sustainability and technology. INSPIRES includes several world-leading research groups in the energy field.

To implement the Double Degree in Mechanical Engineering and Energy and Sustainability Engineering, which is organized in person, the Higher Polytechnic School offers:

• Validation of Higher Degree Training Cycles (CFGS).
• Continuous evaluation.
• Block curricular qualification of the subjects corresponding to the same academic year Individualized tutorials.
• At EPS each student has a tutor assigned to whom they can address any question related to their studies. Within the Néstor tutoring program, attention mechanisms are established for the student.
• Incorporation of active methodologies
• Compulsory supervised internships in a company that allow for the employment of graduates (140 annual internship offers).
• The possibility of carrying out these practices in the international arena. Final Degree Project with tutoring and continuous evaluation.
• The possibility of carrying out the TFG within the framework of the company.

If we stick to the job placement data for graduates of the Degree in Mechanical Engineering, who obtain a full occupation, and the data for other degrees in the industrial field (it should be remembered that the first promotion of graduates of the Degree in Energy Engineering and Sustainability has not yet been incorporated into the labor market) provided by the AQU, we can assure that they will enjoy a high percentage of LABOR INSERTION.

The profession of a graduate in Mechanical Engineering enables us to exercise professional opportunities related to:

• The construction, assembly and maintenance of any industrial plant or mechanical facility.
• Designs and testing of new products or machine elements with CAD programs.
• The study with fine elements nights and with CAE programs, simulations and manufacture of special parts and prototypes.
• Robot programming and obtaining numerical control programs with CAM systems.
• Participation in the areas of management, organization, planning, quality and environment and in the commercial area of companies related to this type of activity.
• The work to the public Administration, teaching, research and technology transfer.
• The free exercise of the profession (preparation of projects, technical studies, legalizations, etc.).

The graduate in Energy Engineering and Sustainability proposed by the UdL corresponds to the profile of a professional with an integrated vision of energy systems, with the ability to design, optimize and manage the generation, transmission, distribution, storage and production systems of Energy. These graduates will have to be able to design and advise administrations and private entities on the energy policies to be implemented, applying criteria of sustainability and global efficiency. Likewise, it will be about people capable of leading R + D + and in the energy sector. In sum, the profile of the Graduate in Energy Engineering and Sustainability is that of a professional with a strong scientific base and who is capable of making decisions based on technical and sustainability criteria. Some of the professional opportunities are related to:

• Energy production, transport and marketing companies (electricity, water, gas).
• Technical management in companies with intensive energy consumption.
• Engineering, consulting, certification companies.
• Carrying out environmental impact assessments, energy efficiency studies, etc.
• Renewable energy sector.
• Public administration.
• Teaching and research.

General objectives of graduates in the Double Degree in Mechanical Engineering and Energy Engineering and Sustainability. The general objective of this double degree is to train professionals capable of:

• Direct the material execution of the building works.
• Write studies and occupational health and safety plans.
• Technical activities of calculation, valuations, drawings of plots and buildings, etc.
• Drafting of technical projects within the framework of their competences (rehabilitation, etc.).
• Manage new building technologies and building quality.
• Direct and manage the use, conservation and maintenance of buildings.
• Technically advise on the manufacture of materials and elements for the construction of buildings.
• Manage the real estate process as a whole.