Sustainable Energy Systems Engineering: Urban Energy Transition Pathways – CAS

Professionals willing to lead a sustainable urban energy transition, active in:

• Urban Governance (urban planners, sustainability officers, policymakers, etc.)
• Consulting (climate and energy plans, smart city/building, environment, etc.)
• Energy or Sustainability Sectors (utility providers, renewable energies developers, etc.)

With over half of the world’s population now living in urban areas, cities are key drivers for the energy transition as they consume 75% of the primary energy and resources worldwide and are increasingly vulnerable to climate change. Whereas most cities have developed climate plans, turning their goals into local action remains complex. How can we design energy transition pathways toward net-zero cities?

Being trained today to shape tomorrow’s sustainable cities offers several strategic advantages – both for career development and for creating meaningful impact. As policies tighten (e.g., carbon neutrality targets, the EU Green Deal, local climate laws), experts who can guide organisations through complex change and operationalise energy transition plans will be increasingly in demand.

For those aiming to pursue advanced specialisation, the CAS is also a first step into the following two advanced programmes:

• Diploma of Advanced Studies (DAS) in Sustainable Energy Systems Engineering: Urban Energy Transition Pathways
• Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in Sustainable Energy Systems Engineering

Be able to understand, model, and design an energy transition at the urban level, specifically to:

• Analyse complex urban energy systems – including production, distribution, and consumption dynamics – and identify opportunities for optimisation
• Identify key actors, drivers, and barriers influencing city-scale energy transitions across multiple levels of governance, from households to national policy
• Engage with stakeholders to co-design and quantify energy transition pathways towards net-zero in the urban environment, applying scenario modelling and multicriteria assessment

The Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Sustainable Energy Systems Engineering: Urban Energy Transition Pathways combines face-to-face and synchronous online teaching and consists of:

• Asynchronous online teaching (~80h)
• Flipped classroom instruction (~27h)
• Practical group project workshops (~60h)
• Practical group project (~120h) with a group report production
• Individual oral assessment

This Certificate of Advanced Studies is one of the CASs recognised in the Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in Sustainable Energy Systems Engineering. More information here.

Title obtained: Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Sustainable Energy Systems Engineering: Urban Energy Transition Pathways delivered by EPFL, 10 ECTS credits. Consult the Academic Regulations

WELCOME DAY
Tue 16 June, 2026, 5 to 7 pm, EPFL, Lausanne

• Teaching staff and peers introduction
• Programme and teaching approach presentation
• Online platform starter kit

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ASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE TEACHING (to be prepared before the on-site lectures and activities)
Self-paced from June to November 2026, supplemented by coaching sessions with academic advisors

• Objectives: Develop a systemic thinking approach to urban energy transition
• Topics: Socio-technical transitions / Socio-technical transitions theory / Goal definition: From political goals to engineering goals / Systems thinking and participatory methods / Energy planning: Urban planning and energy Technical perspective: From methods to tools for urban energy system modelling / Evolution of energy and storage technologies: Emissions, efficiency, and costs / Urban Energy Flow Analysis and LCA / Social Perspective: Drivers for sustainable change and their barriers / Households as key actors for the energy transition / Role of public actors

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ON-SITE LECTURES AND ACTIVITIES

Week 1
FOUNDATIONS OF URBAN ENERGY TRANSITION PATHWAYS
Mon 7 to Fri 11 September 2026, EPFL, Lausanne

• Objectives: Gain a foundational understanding of urban energy transition pathways and apply this knowledge to a real-world case study
• Practical Group Project: Collaboratively i) Define the specific goals of a city’s energy transition, ii) Identify key stakeholders and iii) Propose concrete measures to support the transition
  

Week 2
METHODS AND TOOLS FOR ENERGY MODELLING
Mon 26 to Fri 30 October 2026, Sion

• Objectives: Explore various energy modelling tools and apply a selected tool to your case study
• Practical Group Project: Collaboratively i) Select appropriate modelling methods and tools using a data-informed approach, ii) Integrate technological developments from real-world systems into your transition scenarios
  

Week 3
ENERGY TRANSITION PATHWAYS DESIGN & ASSESSMENT
Mon 23 to Fri 27 November 2026, EPFL, Lausanne

• Objectives: Understand the barriers and drivers of change in urban energy systems, as well as design and assess a transition pathway tailored to your case study
• Practical Group Project: Collaboratively i) Finalise the design of your energy transition pathway, and ii) Evaluate its feasibility by integrating stakeholder perspectives, barriers and drivers to ensure sustainable implementation

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PRACTICAL GROUP PROJECT AND EVALUATION

• Objectives: Collaborative work (group of 3) to gain practical experience in designing a transition pathway in an urban area by following three important steps: a) Assess the current energy context b) Develop transition scenarios c) Project future outcomes
• Project overview: Research & documentation / Expert opinions / On-Site investigation / Modelling and assessment / Calculation and optimisation / Solution proposal
• Evaluation: Production of a group report and individual oral assessment (January 2027)

• Human-Environment Relations in Urban Systems (HERUS), School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, EPFL
• Institute of Sustainable Energy, HES-SO Valais-Wallis, Switzerland
• Energy Center (CEN), EPFL, Switzerland

CAS Academic Leadership

• Prof. Claudia R. Binder, EPFL
• Prof. Jakob Rager, HES-SO

Guest speakers

Guest speakers are experts in urban energy transition at EPFL, HES-SO or at partner companies and institutions

Contact

For academic questions on MAS, DAS and CAS Sustainable Energy Systems Engineering:
sustainable.energy@epfl.ch

Course dates

Programme spread over 7 months between June 2026 and January 2027

Course venue

• Online
• Onsite: EPFL, Lausanne & Sion, Switzerland
  

Course fee

10’000.– Swiss francs*
* Payment in instalments possible

Admission requirements

Master’s degree from a higher education institution (EPF, HES, University), or another degree (in a field related to the programme) deemed equivalent by the Steering Committee*

* Exceptionally, candidates who do not meet the above requirements may be considered for admission, provided they can demonstrate a sufficient level of qualification with another engineering degree in a relevant domain and at least 5 years’ professional experience in the field.

Registration

Admission on file to submit to Formation Continue UNIL-EPFL. Please join to the registration form:

• Letter of motivation
• CV
• Copies of diplomas obtained
  

Registration deadline

31 March, 2026

Number of participants is limited

• Energies go Green, article (in English and French) published in the EPFL magazine “Dimension” on March 14, 2024