The programme will be introduced on GUtech’s campus in Halban, just outside Muscat. It is being sponsored by BP Oman’s latest round of Social Investment Programme, and was awarded to and implemented by HTC, along with their partners TPC and Solar Energy International (SEI). Recently, a number of projects and policies have been initiated in response to the role that solar energy will play in the sultanate.
“We are glad to participate in the founding of a special Solar Training Programme at GUtech,” said Prof Dr Ing Michael Modigell, rector of GUtech. BP Oman will sponsor the supply of the outdoor training facilities.
Along with HTC, TPC and SEI three training classes will be conducted per year. “GUtech has agreed to provide the indoor classroom and outdoor training spaces required for such a programme, over the course of an initial three-year period. The outdoor space will be roughly 400sq m and provide capacity to train over 30 students per session,” Prof Dr Ing Modigell said.
The training curriculum developed by SEI has been used internationally to prepare interested persons who want to work in the photovoltaic sector. It has been further localised with the help of HTC and TPC to meet Oman’s codes and standards. Enrolment into the programme is open for all but particularly for interested Omani residents.
“We expect a wide spectrum of trainees to attend this course, from fresh graduates, to mid-career engineers, consultants and others who might want to participate in this exciting distributed energy generation sector that we see provide great opportunity for local Omani entrepreneurship and employment,” said Dr Firas al Abduwani, CEO of HTC.
Several groups of students from the Urban Planning and Architectural Design department at GUtech, under the instruction of Professor Alexander Kader and lecturer Petrit Pasha, just participated in a design competition to create the first iteration of the outdoor training facilities. “The students really impressed us with both their design talents and skills,” said Michael Tsang, CEO of TPC The winner of the design competition will help in the final design of the training facility, which is expected to be built by February 2018.