The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) received a state-of-the-art Advanced Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Trainer Suite from the Japanese government this week.
The University said the lab equipment upgrade for their Namibia Energy Institute (NEI) amounts to N$900,000.
鈥淭his trainer suit is already in high demand and is currently being utilised by NUST engineering students for their practical experiments in renewable energy generation and grid coupling,鈥 the University said.
Ambassador of Japan to Namibia, Shinichi Asazuma, said innovation goes hand in hand with capacity building, which is why all projects supported by the Japanese Government directly impact beneficiaries through training, with sustainability in mind.
NUST Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Erold Naomba,b emphasised the significance of the donation in building capacity for Namibia鈥檚 clean energy future, adding that it forms part of a broader Japan-funded project, implemented by the UNDP in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform.
He said that the NEI implemented this project in collaboration with the Kafue Gorge Regional Training Centre from Zambia and the Institute for Decentralised Electrification, Entrepreneurship and Education from Ulm University in Germany. 鈥淎s a result of this partnership, five short, specialised courses were offered. These courses were carefully selected to form the foundation of a suite of training modules for the Bachelor of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for trainers, which is currently at an advanced stage of approval at NUST,鈥 he explained.
He added that more than 37 instructors from both pubic and private TVET institutions, as well as engineering lectures from NUST and the University of Namibia, participated in this training programme. 鈥淥ver N$1 million has been invested in training and laboratory infrastructure thus far, with continued efforts underway to establish a central green energy laboratory that can serve both TVET institutions and universities nationwide,鈥 he said.
NUST expressed its sincere gratitude to the Government of Japan, UNDP, and all project partners for their continued support in building Namibia鈥檚 technical capacity for a sustainable energy transition.