| Abstract |
As its contribution towards the Millennium Development Goals of the UN the Government of Iceland has provided funding for the United Nations University Geothermal Training Programme (UNU-GTP) to give annual short courses/workshops in geothermal exploration and development in the different continents. The series includes the following: To begin a workshop is hosted for decision makers in energy ministries/utilities and earth science institutions in the region, intended to increase awareness of the benefits of geothermal energy among these and to further cooperation and contacts between different agencies and individuals in the respective countries. The series is then continued through annual 1-3 week Short Courses in geothermal sciences or engineering with subjects in line with the needs of the region. The Short Courses include active field work, lectures and project work. Participation is by invitation, and the target trainees are young scientists and engineers who are active or potential participants in geothermal work in the region. A cooperation partner is selected with reference to potential and possibilities in hosting such events and overseeing local management. Lecturers are from the UNU-GTP in Iceland and the local partner, usually former UNU Fellows trained in Iceland, and to some extent the neighbouring countries, but renowned international lecturers are brought in if necessary. The first series started in Kenya in 2005 in cooperation with KenGen targeting the East African countries and focussing on exploration of high-temperature resources. A similar series started in El Salvador in 2006 for Central America in cooperation with LaGeo, so far focussing on exploration and environmental implications of high-temperature geothermal development, and in China in 2008, focussing on direct use of geothermal resources. These series have already proven their value as a basis of future cooperation between countries and individuals, and as a first training opportunity for young scientists and engineers engaged in geothermal work. To date about 200 leaders have participated in the three workshops and about 160 scientists or engineers have been trained through the Short Courses, including countries that so far had not qualified for conventional 6 months training in Iceland. Thus, the UNU-GTP has been able to reach a much larger audience. This has also led to a significant increase in cooperation between the respective countries both in active project work and in sharing of technical and human resources. Most of the material presented, and associated written papers, have been published on CDs and in some cases also in printed proceedings, but it is also all available at the UNU-GTP web site (www.unu.is). The structure and content of the Workshops and Short Courses is described and their possible future development is discussed in this paper. |