The Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) (Formerly University of Malawi - The Polytechnic), in line with its mandate of responding to the dynamics needs of the society, has responded to the energy needs of Malawi and the region through development of a New Master of Science in Sustainable Energy with support from the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DfID) through its Transforming Energy Access - Learning Partnership (TEA-LP) Project via University of Cape Town (UCT).

Why study at Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences? 

MUBAS is a dynamic and premier institution of higher learning in Malawi and in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region, responding to the needs of the society. It has the following areas of focus relevant to industry and national development in general: Engineering, Commerce, Sciences, Technology, Communication Education, Built Environment. It is located in the commercial city of Blantyre. MUBAS has various undergraduate and postgraduate academic programmes in all of the areas of focus. The faculty of Postgraduate Studies and Research manages the growing number of postgraduate programmes and students. MUBAS is known for quality programme delivery and research. Its academic staff members are involved in various research and outreach services, both nationally and internationally. It has centres that support postgraduate research and learning, such as The Design Studio, and The Water, Sanitation, Health and Technology Development (WASHTED). 

The location of MUBAS makes it attractive to part-time and full-time postgraduate students in terms of accommodation, catering and transport services. The location also makes networking between University and industry easy. MUBAS has vibrant working relationship with various industries and universities in Malawi and abroad. Among others, the relationship includes professionals from the industry to come and train students as well as provision of internships to students and staff. The universities with working relationship with MUBAS include Rice University (USA), Strathclyde University (UK), and University of Zambia, as well as several national universities (both public and private). 

Curriculum Development Process of The New Master of Science in Sustainable Energy

This Masters programme has been developed, with support from the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DfID) through its Transforming Energy Access - Learning Partnership (TEA-LP) Project via University of Cape Town (UCT). The TEA-LP Project aims at addressing skills shortages in energy sector in sub-Saharan Africa through development of curriculums in selected African Universities. As a form partnership, MUBAS benefitted from exchange of knowledge and experiences from fellow partner universities during curriculum development workshops, as well as from guidance received from UCT during the entire curriculum development stage. As it is the requirement with MUBAS and the National Council for Higher Education in Malawi (NCHE), The Programme has been developed systematically; starting with energy sector needs assessment and then development of the curriculum. National stakeholders, comprising energy industry, parastatals (ESCOM, EGENCO, and MERA), academics from other universities, NGOs, and Government Departments (Energy Affairs Department, and Environmental Affairs Department) were involved in the programme development and validation stages of curriculum development. MUBAS Guidelines on development of new programmes were religiously followed to ensure that the mew masters degree is of high quality. 

Uniqueness of the Programme 

The developed Master of Science in Sustainable Energy (MSc SE) is multidisciplinary in nature, covering modules from engineering, renewable energy, economics, and entrepreneurship. It is founded on the 3 pillars, namely: multidisciplinary; practice oriented; and entrepreneurship and business development. Due its multidisciplinary in nature, The Programme is hosted by three departments; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and Department of Business Administration. 

The programme has been designed to address both hard skills and soft skills gaps in the energy access sector, which are quite numerous and diverse. Thus, the graduates will find employment in many sectors, including Government Departments, parastatals, academia and research based organisations, NGOs (national and international), and industry. The graduates will also come up with their own business ventures in the energy access sector. 

Programme Overview 

The main goal of the programme is to produce cadres to address energy access needs in Malawi and the SADC region. The objectives of the programme are to:

• Train students in the theory and practice of sustainable energy access.
• Equip students with research and development skills in energy access. 
• Provide students with practical experience on the design and installation of renewable energy systems.
• Equip students with ICT skills in design and management of sustainable energy technologies.
• Equip students with skills on entrepreneurship and sustainability of energy projects.
• Prepare the students for a research career in energy access (life-long learning).

In terms of hard skills, by the end of this Programme, the student shall be able: 

• Conduct research and development in energy access sector. 
• Managing an energy access project and energy systems.
• Carry out maintenance and quality management checks on energy access systems. 
• Develop and run a business venture in energy access.
• Formulate and review energy policy

By the end of the Programme, in terms of soft skills, the student shall be able to demonstrate the following: 

1. Professional about the way energy systems or technologies are assessed, installed, operated and managed
2. adhere to standards, regulations and ubuntu when carrying energy assessments and forecasting, research, design, doing business, managing , installation and supervision of energy access projects .
3. effectively communicate (in written and oral) with clients, project team members, and the rest of stakeholders on off-grid energy project for example, on system requirements, design and installation, and research outputs on off-grid energy
4. Work collaboratively in a team comprising people with same profession or other professions in the energy access sector supply chain.
5. Coordinate diverse individuals and teams to successfully complete an off-grid energy project, as well as motivate team members to work hard and perform well to achieve the purpose 
6. Evaluate off-grid energy challenges through a thorough and thoughtful process employing logical connections between possible ideas.
7. Plan jobs and provide outputs, with minimal supervision to clients in the energy sector
8. Find viable solutions to off-grid design problems by taking into account system design parameters such as those of the household or community users

The duration of this MSc SE Degree Programme degree is two years; comprising one year of taught modules (first year) and another year for research. The Programme has two streams: Energy Access and Energy Management. In order to graduate, a student has to earn 240 credits, of which 120 credits are earned through taught modules in first year. The other 120 credits are earned through a research module in second year. Each stream has 8 modules, of 15 credits each. Five (5) of the 8 modules are common to both streams. The Thesis module, also common to both streams, is worth 120 credits. The common taught modules are: Research methodology; Project management; Entrepreneurship; Maintenance and quality management; and Renewable energy resources. The modules specific to Energy Access stream are: Solar energy systems; Biomass energy systems; Renewable energy systems installation. Whereas for Energy Management Stream, specific modules are Energy Economics; Energy Policy; Energy Management.

Please download this document for more information about the modules.

Award

Master of Science in Sustainable Energy

Mode of Delivery

This is a full-time Masters programme delivered on block release. For taught modules, the students will attend classes for a particular module for two weeks and then do independent study for another two week. After this the will come back to write the end of module examination and continue with another module. 

Admission Requirements

The MSc SE Degree programme entry requirement is the relevant bachelor's degree in science or engineering or renewable energy or built environment or technical education for the Energy Access stream. For the Energy Management stream, the entry requirement is the same as for the Energy Access stream or bachelor's degree in commerce or in social sciences. The qualifications must be obtained from institutions that are accredited by recognised Higher Education Regulators.

Call for Applications for October 2021 Intake

Please apply by following the information here.

Tuition fees

The tuition fee for the entire programme is 6,500 US Dollars.

Funding Opportunity

There are a number of full scholarships available. For further information on scholarships, see this.

Timeline

• Deadline for student applications: 17-Sep-21
• Notification of selected applicants: To be communicated
• Scholarship selection: To be communicated
• Notification for those successful in scholarship application: To be communicated
• Registration opens: To be communicated
• Launch date (student in class): To be communicated
• Registration closes: To be communicated

Contact Details

Concerning the Programme, contact Dr. Suzgo Kaunda on skaunda@mubas.ac.mw

+265 888 29 00 59 (WhatsApp)

Concerning general information about the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences contact University Registrar at registrar@mubas.ac.mw