Growing Rwanda Energy Awareness Through highER education

ongoing

The GREATER project aims at supporting Rwandan country in the energy transition needed for its social and economic growth. Smart, renewable energy will allow for filling the energy gap, enabling full, equal access of the population to electricity. Low-power, off-grid, distributed power generation will play a key role, this calling for both the training of a new generation of skilled professionals and for the widespread diffusion of green awareness in the national community. GREATER project aims at tackling both aspects by implementing an inclusive, participated design flow. Core activity will result in the design of 8 new/renewed curricula in the field of smart and green energy: innovation will come from the introduction of strong digital (Internet of Things) foundations and from a strongly practice-oriented training. Training will also be based on the innovative introduction of a network of 4 Living Labs. Living Labs will be real-life locations, hosting different activities, which will be equipped with smart (photovoltaic) power stations: from the one side living labs will allow students to experience in a realistic environment; from the other one, Living Labs will provide a strategic hub for community engagement. A full range of representative stakeholders will be enclosed in all design activities, since earlier phases, through a collaborative design thinking procedure. This will ensure project outcomes to be consistent with community needs and expectancies, in terms of educational goals, better employability and socioeconomic benefits coming from the project. Community engagement will therefore be twofold: at the project “input” side, insights and addresses from the community will drive educational design activities, at the “output” side, beyond academic outcomes, transfer activities are planned to tailor specific outcomes targeting different community segments, caring mostly at youth and people with fewer opportunities.