| Abstract |
The United Nations University Geothermal Training Programme (UNU-GTP) specialized in capacity building in geothermal exploration and development for geothermal professionals since its establishment in December 1978. In the beginning of 2020, changes were made on the organization behind the programme, and with it the name changed to GRÓ Geothermal Training Programme (GRÓ GTP). The mandate of the Geothermal Training Programme (GTP) has always been to provide for capacity building in developing countries, which has been achieved through intensive hands-on training and academic studies in Iceland, as well as short courses, workshops and training in cooperation countries. The annual 6-month training in Iceland, given in 1979-2019 by UNU-GTP, is the basic operation of the Programme. As geothermal exploration and development is very much a multi-disciplinary task, the training is offered in eight lines of study. From 2015 these are: Geothermal Geology, Geophysical Exploration, Reservoir Engineering and Borehole Geophysics, Chemistry of Thermal Fluids, Environmental Science, Geothermal Utilization, Drilling Technology, and Project Management and Finances, with the fellows trained in their chosen discipline. At the end of 2019, a total of 718 scientists and engineers from 63 countries had completed the annual 6-month specialized courses. Africa has received the largest support with 39% of the UNU Fellowships, 35% have been given to countries in Asia, 15% to Latin America and the Caribbean, 10% to Central and Eastern Europe, and 1% to Oceania. Many UNU graduates have become leading specialists in geothermal research and development in their home countries. Fellowships for MSc and PhD studies have been offered to selected candidates, who have completed the 6-month training, with the aim to go one or two steps further in assisting developing countries to strengthen their geothermal research capacity and know-how. This has been done in cooperation with University of Iceland and ReykjavÃk University. The 6-month training is recognized to fulfil 25% of the MSc programme credit requirements (30 ECTS units) if needed. The MSc and PhD Fellowships cover the costs of studying in Iceland, while the Icelandic universities are responsible for the studies. In 2001-2019, 67 UNU Fellows completed an MSc degree in geothermal science or engineering in Iceland through the UNU-GTP MSc programme. The recipients of six, out of the first eight PhD fellowships, were Kenyans. The first one defended her PhD dissertation in 2013. By the end of 2019, three had completed their PhD studies, all from Kenya, with three more in line in near future. Most of the UNU Fellowships for training or studies in Iceland have been financed by the Icelandic Government, while some have been co-sponsored through international support, or by local companies. The operations of UNU-GTP were not limited to Iceland. Training activities in developing countries, usually referred to as the UN Millennium Development Goals Short Course Series, were initiated in 2005, with a Workshop for Decision Makers held in Kenya. It was followed by annual Short Courses for East Africa held in Kenya from 2006. A similar series for Central America was given in El Salvador from 2006, later stretching to the whole of Latin America and the Caribbean. In both series, UNU-GTP has worked closely with the local energy companies, KenGen and GDC in Kenya, and LaGeo in El Salvador. The aim was to increase efforts in geothermal capacity building and further regional cooperation in geothermal development by taking the training to the cooperation countries. The annual series were reorganized in 2016, in line with the recent UN Sustainable Development Goals, with the first UN SDG-events given in 2016, both in El Salvador and in Kenya. These Short Course series have also provided a basis for UNU-GTP to offer customer-designed short courses and training in line with needs of an externally funded customer. This became an important part of UNU-GTP’s operations, with 44 events given in the period from 2010 to 2019. In April 2016, UNU-GTP signed a cooperation agreement with LaGeo – the Salvadorian geothermal company in becoming an active partner in a 5-month Diploma Course on geothermal exploration and development offered in Spanish in El Salvador for geothermal professionals from Latin America with the University of El Salvador as the third partner. An agreement was reached with the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Iceland as an intermediary partner, to finance the programme for three years. In May 2019, the ministry agreed to support it for two more years, through 2020. In 2016-2019, 29-30 Spanish speaking students have attended the course annually, 20 on full fellowships awarded each year. After a cooperation of over 41 years, the Government of Iceland and United Nations University (UNU) severed their connection at the end of 2019. Instead a new Category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO named GRÓ, was established in Iceland to envelope the four Icelandic former UNU programmes. With this new affiliation the programmes are expected to continue their operations in a similar way as before, whilst keeping the UN ties. Thus, the Geothermal Training Programme continues its activities as GRÓ GTP. This paper describes the activities of the UNU Geothermal Training Programme with emphasis on its operations in Iceland, but including also an outline of its foreign operations. The latter is though more thoroughly described in another paper. |