Course Information

Class day/time: Spring semester, Wednesday, 10:00 – 11:40, on-line (MS Teams)

Fields of study: Energy Policy Studies (Eng.) (programme FSS, N-MS); Energy Security Studies (Eng.) (programme FSS, N-MS); Evropská studia (program FSS, N-EVS); Evropská studia (program FSS, N-MS); Mez. vztahy a energ. bezpečnost (program FSS, N-MS); Mez. vztahy a energ. bezpečnost (program FSS, N-MVEB); Mezinárodní vztahy (program FSS, N-MS); Mezinárodní vztahy (program FSS, N-MV)

Number of credits: 4

Type of completion: zk (examination)

Readings: 791 pages, 43 minutes of audiovisual material

Class type: Lectures (2/0/0)

Instructor: doc. PhDr. Tomáš Vlček, Ph.D.

Guaranteed by: doc. PhDr. Tomáš Vlček, Ph.D.

Contact: tomas.vlcek@mail.muni.cz

Course Description

The aim of the course is to cover the basic mechanics, designs and technologies of energy-producing devices and installations. The main attention is focused on explaining the mechanisms and operations of energy production plants and some important features of technology and economy/economics for conducting an energy-focused research or assessing an energy policy. The course thus deals mostly with following main areas: the production chains, the usage of energy commodities, the relation between energy and economy, and how the energy commodities are marketed. The course consists of topics of principles of electricity production, transport and consumption, coal industry, nuclear energy, renewables and modern technologies, trends of the technological and the economic aspects of an energy sector and other topics. Electrification of industry and consumption is a modern trend increasing the demand on production and quality of electricity. The course thus responds to modern trends in worldwide energy policy.

Study Workload

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to understand basics of electricity production; understand pros and cons of individual energy sources and explain their value chains in the whole production cycle; students will also be able to make well-supported arguments in the topic of new energy sources; and will be able to interpret basic academic energy-related texts of technical nature.

Course Requirements

1) Students are expected to read required readings for each lecture. Compulsory readings for the course are to be found in Study Materials folder of Information System.

2) Students are expected to attend each lecture, with exceptions stated by the Masaryk University Study and Examination Regulations.

3) Presented PowerPoint presentations will be provided in the Study Materials folder of the Information System after each lecture. Lectures will not be recorded.

4) The teacher has the right to adjust the course requirements during the semester.

Grading

The final grade will be calculated as a sum of two parts. The maximum is 30 points; the minimum to complete the course is 19 points. The mid-term test stands for 10 points, and the final written exam for another 20 points. The grade will be calculated as follows:

Mid-term Test and Final Written Exam

The online mid-term test has a single term and cannot be repeated. It consists of ten test questions to be answered in 3 minutes; for each test question, there is only one correct answer for a maximum of one point. The highest possible score is 10 points.

The online final exam will be a written examination. The student will have to prove his knowledge by answering two open questions (each for 5 points maximum) and ten test questions (for each test question, there is only one correct answer for a maximum of one point); altogether the highest possible score for the final written exam is 20 points. The final exam’s duration is 20 minutes.

Cheating and plagiarism

Cheating on a written exam or in any other part or aspect of the course will result in the reduction of the final grade to an F. Plagiarism is the use of material written by another person without referencing the source. Plagiary will receive no points and the final grade will be an F. The Disciplinary Commission will be notified about any cases of plagiarism.