Engineering Control Engineer in a Power Company?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on a first-year MSc Automation and Control Engineering student at Politecnico di Milano, who previously worked as a Power Protection Engineer for a national power company. The company lacks automation in its Generation, Dispatch Center, and Transmission and Distribution Systems, prompting the need for a specialized control engineer. The student seeks clarity on their future role and the specific areas of control systems that will be beneficial post-graduation. Despite inquiries to management, the responses remain vague, indicating a general need for automation expertise without detailed guidance. The conversation highlights the challenges of transitioning to a more automated infrastructure in a company reliant on outdated systems.
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I am a first year student in MSc Automation and Control Engineering in Politecnico di Milano. I was working as a Power Protection Engineer before my company decided to send me to do my Masters in the above mentioned degree. The management thought it necessary to at least have someone specialized in Control Systems and that someone happens to be me.
About the Company: it is the National company of my country responsible for Generating, Transmitting and Distributing Power. Neither the Generation System, The Dispatch Center, nor the Transmission and Distribution System is automated.
My questions now are, How would I be useful to this company? What will be my routine job after graduating? Which area of Control Systems would be useful?
 
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Controls engineering isn't my field, but I'm not sure it needs to be in this case. Can you direct these questions to your employer? Someone willing to pay for your education probably has some ideas about this.
 
Thank you Ben. Yes, I asked them but all they say is "at least a control engineer is needed in the company, lot of projects are on the way concerning automating the grid and bla bla". No thorough insight!
 
airer said:
... Neither the Generation System, The Dispatch Center, nor the Transmission and Distribution System is automated.

Sorry, but I don't believe you are correct here. What happens when someone turns on a big motor in a factory? Or even switching on a light?
 
To clarify, the automation devices in place are antiquated. We still go with pick-ups for load shedding. The frequency relays and other important devices are mostly bypassed.
Ok, for the factories switching big motors, we don't have big factories. The ones we have a very small ones like Drinks, Soaps, ... factories which can't cause any major effect.
 
airer said:
Thank you Ben. Yes, I asked them but all they say is "at least a control engineer is needed in the company, lot of projects are on the way concerning automating the grid and bla bla". No thorough insight!
You have your work cut out for you then. Hopefully someone will come along who knows this area.
 

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