Solar energy educational programme for sustainable development in Egypt

Exploiting the Sun’s energy can help in the sustainable development of nations with transitional economies, such as Egypt. Fortunately, Egypt is located in the world’s solar belt and enjoys excellent solar availability. However, there are few dedicated postgraduate training programmes for Egyptians in the field of solar energy. The authors have carried out a systematic needs analysis in Egypt by surveying a range of Egyptian solar energy companies and undergraduate students, who were the main target groups of the educational programme. According to statistical analysis from the surveys, 76% of students were motivated to study solar energy for environmental and economic reasons. The surveys also revealed that the most important skill needed by companies was concerned with the design of solar energy systems, which is a process that requires a mixture of intuitive, analytical and technical skills. Consequently, they have developed customised software tools to enrich the theoretical and practical teaching of the programme, which was certified and approved for delivery at three different Egyptian universities. The authors also present the programme that was co-created by a consortium of European and Egyptian partners, its structure and its main achievements, such that it can be used as a pilot model for solar energy education in other developing countries.