Thanks to the new laboratory, the construction and equipment of which was provided by PREdistribuce, the students of FEL CTU will be able to touch the devices that are used in practice today by workers in the field of electricity transmission and distribution. The opening ceremony took place on Monday, 11 November 2024 in the presence of the Dean of FEL CTU, Prof. Petr Páta, Councillor of the Capital City of Prague Mgr. Jan Chabr, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PRE Ing. Pavel Elis, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of PRE Ing. Alexander Manfred Sloboda, Director of PREdistribution Ing. Milan Hampl and doc. Zdeněk Müller, Head of the Department of Electrical Power Engineering at FEL CTU and other guests.
"We're training energy experts for the 21st century and it's important for n us that they get in touch with real technologies. The new generation of experts from our faculty will be actors in the fundamental changes that await the energy industry in the coming decades. The whole industry will undergo a generational change, existing experts will leave and it will be up to our graduates to fill the gap. We thank PRE as a key player in the energy sector for helping us educate our students. Without partners like PRE, this would not be possible," said Prof. Petr Páta, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of CTU.
The new modern devices significantly improve the quality of teaching at FELU and represent a competitive advantage in the field of education. "The teaching of energy disciplines is often detached from the technology used in real practice. And if students do get access to something, it tends to be older equipment that is not commonly used today. The newly opened laboratory allows to connect theoretical teaching with practice," said Radek Hanuš from PREdistribuce.
Modern instruments and training from experts
The new laboratory consists of two interconnected areas: a room equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and an adjacent classroom for approximately 20 students, where the subjects of the Electrical Engineering, Energy and Management (EEM) study programme, such as Electrical Power Engineering II, Energy Design, Operation of Electricity Systems, Electricity Distribution and Transmission and Distribution of Electricity, will be taught. The laboratory will also host traditional exercises and specialized seminars. The laboratory and the classroom have been conceptually designed so that students come into contact with modern technology during their regular classes and not only during a few laboratory exercises.
"For example, in the Electricity Distribution course, students will try handling a real HV (high voltage) station. Students will try not only local handling or handling via computer, but also handling in coordination with a real dispatcher. The equipment is connected directly to the PREdistribution systems," pointed out Assoc. Zdeněk Müller.
And it won't just be about remote communication; students will have support from practitioners throughout the academic year. "Our specialists are ready to come and train students, specifically in the area of protection or control in the electricity system, automation, smart meters, for example," adds Hanuš.
In addition to the encapsulated HV switchboard, the laboratory is equipped with other devices, such as short-circuit current indicators, voltage presence indicators, a device for measuring power quality or computers equipped with software for operating the HV station. In short, they will try out what a real dispatcher does," said Michal Šolle from PREdistribuce.
