Smart Distribution Course for 21st Century Power Sector Workforce

The current transition towards smart distribution systems necessitates the development of educational curricula that have the interdisciplinary breadth together with the technical depth to furnish the present and future generation of engineers with a new set of skills and tools to address the challenges associated with emerging smart grid technologies. This work presents a newly designed smart distribution course that is intended to meet the needs of the power distribution industry. The paper gives a high-level overview of the broad range of topics related to developments and trends in smart distribution technologies including automatic restoration, data management, cybersecurity, interoperability and standards, and future vision. It stresses the multidisciplinary nature of the course and the importance of the strong collaboration between academia and key stakeholders, and the support from utilities, industry, government, and consultants. The course has been developed and taught by distribution system experts who are currently implementing smart grid technologies along with smart grid pioneers who are known worldwide. Moreover, to measure the effectiveness of the instructional approach of the course, students learning outcomes were assessed and discussed. The lessons learned from the implementation of the course are also summarized.