Dr Gobind Pillai graduated with a First class bachelor degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Kerala University, India in 2006. He has professional experience in India and UAE spanning across the maintenance of steel plant electrical machinery, electrical power distribution and building services engineering.

After a few years in industry Gobind went on to complete a Masters in Power Systems Engineering with a Distinction in 2011 from Anna University, Chennai, India. He also completed an MBA by distance education at the same time in Operations Management from ICFAI University, India.

Gobind moved to the UK in January 2012 for his PhD in Electrical Power Engineering (completed in February 2015) at Northumbria University as part of an EPSRC funded UK-India collaborative project titled Stability and Performance of Photovoltaics (STAPP). His PhD research looked at case studies from the UK and India, for studying the impacts of grid integration of distributed residential PV systems on near-term economic benefits, energy yield optimization and grid support.

Gobind has also worked as a part time tutor at Northumbria during his PhD and was nominated for ‘Best Postgraduate who Teaches’ in the 2014 Student Led Teaching Awards.

Gobind started as a senior lecturer at Teesside University in July 2014 and teaches a variety of modules within MEng/BEng programmes on Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Instrumentation and Control Engineering. He was the programme leader for MSc in Electrical Power and Energy Systems till 2020.

Gobind has been the Principal Lecturer for Programmes in the Engineering Department since January 2020 till January 2024. From January 2024 his role has changed to Principal Lecturer (Learning & Teaching) in Engineering. 

Gobind received Top Reviewer (2015, 2016) Awards from Renewable Energy, a high impact journal from Elsevier, in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Gobind does research in Energy Informatics, Electrical Power Engineering and Grid-integrated Photovoltaics. Focus areas include forecasting of generation and demand, techno-economics of new and renewable energy sources, and power system impact analysis under the smart grid paradigm. Prospective PhD students who would like to work in these areas can contact him directly for further information.

Gobind welcomes self-funded PhD applications from prospective students aligned to his research interests

URF/20500033 - Impacts of photovoltaics in the future electricity generation mix – start-up grant

Horizon 2020 Project Renewable Energy for self-sustAinable island CommuniTies (REACT)

British Academy Project: What is in a Meter? Working Towards Efficient, Socially Inclusive and Environmentally Sensitive Energy and Water Infrastructures in the Global South

• 2014 – present, Member, IET
• 2014 – present, Member, IEEE
• 2014 – present, Reviewer, Elsevier International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems
• 2015 – present, Reviewer, Elsevier Renewable Energy
• 2015 – present, Reviewer, Elsevier Energy
• 2015 – present, Reviewer, IET Renewable Power Generation
• 2017 – present, Reviewer, Elsevier Energy Conversion and Management
• 2017 – present, Reviewer, Elsevier Energy Policy
• 2017 – present, Reviewer, MDPI Energies

Module Leader for:

• Renewable Energy Generation (MSc) (2022-]
• Sustainability (2022-]
• Renewable Energy Conversion Systems (MSc) [2016-2021]
• Emerging Transmission Systems (MSc) [2016-]
• Electrical Engineering Design and Implementation (BEng/MEng) [2016-7]
• Electrical & Electronic Principles (BEng/MEng) [2015-]
• Electrical Machines (BEng/MEng) [2014-]
• Mathematics for Construction (HNC/D)[2014]
• Electrical Machines (TUOLE HNC/D) [2014-15]
• Electrical Supply & Distribution (TUOLE HNC/D) [2014-15]
• Electrical System Protection (TUOLE HNC/D) [2014-15]

Programme Leader for (2016-2020):

• • MSc/PgDip Electrical Power and Energy Systems Engineering
  • MSc/PgDip Electrical Power and Energy Systems Engineering with Advance Practice