About the Program

🎯 Program Objective

The Smart Grids Graduate Program has been established to address the technological, academic, and industrial needs that have emerged during the digital transformation of energy infrastructures. The MSc and PhD programs aim to provide advanced knowledge and expertise in areas such as renewable energy integration, big data analytics, AI-assisted energy management, distributed generation systems, energy storage, electric vehicles, cyber security, transmission–distribution automation, and energy economics.

🕰 History

The Smart Grids Graduate Program was founded in 2013 in parallel with the global digitalization of energy systems. In this respect, it is the first and pioneering graduate program in Türkiye in the field. Since its establishment, the curriculum has been continuously updated in line with the rapid transformation dynamics of the international energy industry and has been developed dynamically in response to both sectoral requirements and scientific advancements.

🌍 Interdisciplinary Approach

Smart grids constitute a broad research domain that evolves through the collaborative knowledge production and integration of multiple engineering and fundamental science disciplines. The design, security, control, analysis, and operation of smart grid infrastructures require the collective expertise of numerous fields.

Accordingly, the smart grids field and its research activities are based on — among others:

  • Electrical–Electronics Engineering (power systems, protection, transmission–distribution, power electronics)
  • Computer Engineering (software architectures, databases, IoT, cyber security)
  • Mechanical Engineering (energy conversion systems, thermodynamics, mechanical design)
  • Energy Systems Engineering (renewable energy technologies and system integration)
  • Control and Automation Engineering (advanced control techniques, process automation, SCADA)
  • Artificial Intelligence / Data Science (big data, machine learning, predictive models, optimization)
  • Communication Technologies (communication protocols, wired/wireless infrastructures, 5G/6G)

In addition, the computational foundations, modeling processes, material behavior and energy conversion mechanisms of smart grids require the expertise of fundamental sciences:

  • Mathematics (optimization, numerical analysis, differential equations, probability and statistics–based predictive models)
  • Physics (electromagnetism, semiconductor physics, energy conversion principles, materials science)
  • Chemistry (battery technologies, fuel cells, electrochemical energy storage, material interactions)

Thanks to this structure, students from diverse engineering fields as well as from fundamental sciences are admitted to the program, each contributing their domain-specific background to the shared vision of the digital transformation of energy systems.

As a result, the Smart Grids Graduate Program represents a truly interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder ecosystem, uniting:

  • engineering,
  • information and communication technologies,
  • energy economics,
  • data science and artificial intelligence,
  • and the analytical foundation of fundamental sciences.

🧠 Program Scope and Focus Areas

The programs provide graduate students with a comprehensive environment that combines both theoretical and applied research. Core focus areas include:

  • Renewable energy and clean energy technologies
  • Distributed generation and energy storage systems
  • Smart grid modeling and power system analytics
  • Energy markets and energy economics
  • Integration of electric vehicles into power systems
  • Cyber security and communication infrastructures
  • AI- and big-data-based energy management
  • Smart metering systems and power electronics interfaces

The overarching goal of the programs is to equip graduate students with research-oriented thinking, innovation capability, problem solving, system design, and leadership skills.

🌐 Language of Instruction

The language of instruction of the Smart Grids Graduate Programs is English. This enables students to gain a competitive advantage in global academic and industrial platforms and to take active roles in international projects, scientific publications, and engineering practices.

🧩 Key Features

  • Curriculum fully focused on the digital transformation of the energy sector
  • Education model balanced between research and practical application
  • Interdisciplinary academic staff
  • Continuous cooperation with industry and opportunities to participate in research projects
  • Access to laboratories, simulation tools, software and power system infrastructures
  • Support for industrial prototyping, field studies, and scientific publication
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