Webinar - Education for the Energy Transition

Name: Webinar - Education for the Energy Transition
Start: 2021-06-30
End: 2021-06-30

30 June 2021

Overview

Education for the Energy Transition:

Approaches, Resources and Next Steps

30^th June 2021 at 3 to 4:30 pm CEST (GMT+1)

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We urgently have to scale up both the workforce and awareness needed for a clean energy transition. This requires bold efforts in education and workforce training to produce a new generation of energy professionals, reskill the current workforce and create informed consumers.

This interactive event, sponsored by the Green Learning Network, the International Renewable Energy Agency, REN21 and UNEP’s Youth and Education Alliance, brings together panellists at the forefront of renewable energy education and training to share innovative approaches to skill building and is useful for anyone interested in building a more sustainable future.

We will explore both challenges and solutions in areas such as adapting curricula to meet emerging knowledge and skills requirements; the role of educators across all levels and disciplines in helping students understand the opportunities and massive growth in clean energy careers; and systemic reform needs. The session will include discussion of resources, successful examples, solutions and sharing mechanisms during this interactive session.

Agenda

Context on education and skills needs for the energy transition

Samah Elsayed, Programme Officer- Renewable Energy Education, International Renewable Energy Agency

Presentation of innovative education and training approaches

Moderated by Dr. Debra Rowe, President, U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development

Professional Development for Educators: Renewable energy curricula and instructional materials

Dr. Kenneth Walz, Director, Center for Renewable Energy Advanced Technological Education (CREATE), Madison Area Technical College, Wisconsin, USA

Building the skills needed to address energy access challenges

Giles Bristow, Director of Programmes, Ashden- Climate Solutions in Action

Delivering an inclusive solar industry curricula

Hope Nyambura Njoroge, Business Development Officer, Strathmore Energy Research Centre (SERC), Kenya

Training the renewable energy workforce of the future

Alan Goundry, Head, Energy Academy at Newcastle College, UK and member of UK Green Jobs Taskforce

The Bridging Innovation and Learning in TVET (BILT) project: Fostering international peer-learning on greening TVET

Vera Hark, Project Manager, Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, Germany

Q and A and discussion

Reflections - Rana Adib, Executive Director, REN21

Following the webinar, the platform will stay open for a 30-minute networking session for those interested.

This event is co-sponsored by the Green Learning Network, the International Renewable Energy Agency, REN21 and UNEP:YEA! Greening the Campus.

The Green Learning Network (GLN) is a dedicated space where education and training professionals from around the world can find a range of green learning resources and events, share information, ask advice, and learn from one another. Launched by the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) with support from the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE), the GLN aims to inform, inspire, and innovate while facilitating partnerships and collaboration around green learning. This online collaborative space showcases a wide range of green learning opportunities and events for students and provides an exchange space for demand-driven collaboration on green learning among practitioners.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organisation that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future. IRENA promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity. With more than 180 states actively engaged, IRENA encourages governments to adopt enabling policies for renewable energy investments, provides practical tools and policy advice to accelerate renewable energy deployment, and facilitates knowledge sharing and technology transfer to provide clean, sustainable energy for the world’s growing population.

REN21 is the only global community of renewable energy actors from science, academia, governments, NGOs and industry. REN21 provides up-to-date facts, figures and peer-reviewed analysis of global developments in technology, policies and markets to decision-makers. REN21’s goal: encourage and enable them to make the transition to renewable energy happen – now.

UNEP’s Youth and Education Alliance (YEA!) works with both higher education and youth networks from around the world to increase environmental awareness and education to accelerate the environmental changes that urgently need to be made in this decade. The goal is to inspire higher education institutions across the globe to integrate sustainability and environmental best practices into their curricula, civics and across their campuses while also raising the profile of higher education as change agents. Greening the Campus is an online series of convenings about these topics and part of UNEP’s focus on growing green jobs for youth.