IAESTE Internships

Location

Switzerland

Internship type

ON-SITE

Reference number

CH-2026-000236

Students Requirements

General discipline

Electrical Engineering
Power Engineering

Completed Years of Study

2

Fields of Study

Languages

German Good (B1, B2)

English Good (B1, B2)

Required Knowledge and Experience

-

Other Requirements

-

Work Details

Duration

8 - 14 Weeks

Within These Dates

01.02.2026 - 31.08.2026

Holidays

NONE

Work Environment

-

Gross pay

2700 CHF / month

Working Hours

41.0 per week / 8.2 per day

Living Lodging

Type of Accommoditation

IAESTE LC Zurich

Cost of lodging

850 CHF / month

Cost of living

1650 CHF / month

Work Offered

Additional Info

Any student with Non-EU/EFTA nationality needs an official letter from their university, confirming that the internship is compulsory (required for visa/work permit).

Work description

Experimental investigation into the partial discharge behaviour of defects in gas-insulated switchgear with environmentally friendly insulating gases.In gas-insulated switchgear (GIS), the proven but climate-damaging insulating gas SF6 is being replaced by new gas mixtures. Air mixtures with vacuum interrupters, mixtures with C4F7N/O2/CO2 and CO2/O2 mixtures are competing as alternatives. Although products with these gases are already on the market, there are still gaps in the understanding of the behaviour of these gases in the presence of defects such as hopping particles, protrusions or particles on insulators. Such defects can have a negative impact on electric strength and must be reliably detected. A high-voltage test with sensitive partial discharge measurement before commissioning ensures that the defects are found in SF6. The aim is to show that faults in alternative insulating gases can be detected just as well as in SF6.In a prior work, a test setup was built for systematic experimental investigation of the above gases. The aim of your work is to systematically measure the partial discharge signals in different gases in the presence of different defects. Your findings will be incorporated into the CIGRE working group D1.78.Your tasksTesting (~60%) - You will experimentally investigate the behaviour of various defects in alternative insulating gases using conventional and UHF partial discharge measurement and direct measurement of the discharge current. Development (~20%) - You will be improving the test setup consisting of a test source, measurement circuit and test specimen.Evaluation (~20%) - You will analyse the data, systematically search for trends and influencing factors and compare your results with other laboratories. You will be supervised in your research activities by experienced experts from the FKH.

Deadline

03.12.2025