International Workshop on “Energizing Higher Education – Renewable Energy for Economic Transition (e-REET)”

On December 15, 𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗟, 𝗞𝗨 successfully organized an international project dissemination workshop at the Himalaya Drishya Resort, Dhulikhel. This event was part of the “𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗲-𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗧)” project, a 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 between 𝗞𝗨 and the 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 (𝗜𝗧𝗧), 𝗧𝗛 𝗞ö𝗹𝗻, 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆, 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 by the 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 (𝗗𝗔𝗔𝗗).

The workshop began with an opening remarks by 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳. 𝗥𝗮𝗺𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮 𝗕𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗛 𝗞ö𝗹𝗻, who provided a comprehensive overview of the e-REET project. He highlighted the project’s vision of strengthening academia by integrating renewable energy into higher education, aligning academic programs with economic transition goals and fostering collaboration between institutions. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳. 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗮𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗟 at KU, elaborated on the outcomes of the project, including the development of specialized curricula, university partnerships and enhanced student and faculty exchange programs. These initiatives aim to create a skilled workforce capable of addressing global renewable energy challenges. 𝗜𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘇 of TH Köln presented his research on 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶-𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗥𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀: 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀. Using comparative case studies from Nepal and Mali, he discussed innovative approaches such as hybridization and repurposing strategies to address the challenge of underutilized mini-grids. 𝗥𝗮𝘃𝗶 𝗦𝘂𝘄𝗮𝗹, a Ph.D. scholar from RSEL, KU, shared his work on the  𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗧𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗗𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺. He highlighted its benefits for small-scale farmers, particularly in reducing post-harvest losses and enhancing the value chain for agricultural products. The workshop concluded with an 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 among participants, focusing on enhancing renewable energy curricula, developing joint courses and fostering deeper collaborations between universities globally.

These discussions set the stage for future initiatives to bridge gaps in renewable energy education and research.