| Abstract |
From its establishment in 1978, the United Nations University Geothermal Training Programme (UNU-GTP) has specialized in capacity building for geothermal exploration and development for professionals from developing countries. This has been achieved through training and post-graduate academic studies in Iceland as well as short courses, workshops and training in the developing countries themselves. The annual six month training in Iceland, given since 1979, is the basic operation of the programme, with the aim of giving university graduates engaged in or groomed for geothermal work, intensive on-the-job training in their chosen discipline. Specialized training has been offered in nine fields: Geological Exploration, Borehole Geology, Geophysical Exploration, Borehole Geophysics, Reservoir Engineering, Chemistry of Thermal Fluids, Environmental Sciences, Geothermal Utilization, and Drilling Technology. By 2014, a total of 583 scientists and engineers from 58 countries have completed the annual six month specialized courses offered, or equivalent training, with the 2013 group of 34 individuals the largest to date. Of these, 37% have come from countries in Asia, 36% from Africa, 15% from Latin America and the Caribbean, 11% from Central and Eastern Europe, and 1% from Oceania. Former UNU Fellows are among the leading specialists in geothermal research and development in many countries. The MSc and PhD programmes that are offered in cooperation with the University of Iceland, and now also Reykjavik University, were established to go a step further in assisting selected developing countries to strengthen their specialist groups and increase their geothermal research capacity, through admittance and support for postgraduate academic studies. The six month training at UNU-GTP fulfils 25% of the MSc programme credit requirements. Since 2001, 40 former UNU Fellows have completed an MSc degree in geothermal science or engineering through the UNU-GTP MSc programme ((end of 2014). The recipients of the first three UNU-GTP PhD Fellowships to date are Kenyans, with the first one defending her PhD thesis in early 2013. The operations of UNU-GTP have, however, not been limited to Iceland. Training activities in developing countries, usually referred to as the UN Millennium Short Courses, were initiated 10 years ago, with Workshops for Decision Makers, followed by annual Short Courses, starting in East Africa (Kenya) in 2005 and Central America (El Salvador) in 2006. The aim has been to increase efforts in geothermal capacity building and further regional cooperation in geothermal development. These series have also provided a basis for UNU-GTP to offer customer-designed short courses and training in line with needs in key partner countries. |