Glasgow Caledonian training Sri Lankan renewables workforce

Glasgow Caledonian University academics have delivered two days of training on campus this week as part of a three-year project aimed at helping Sri Lanka address workforce shortages in renewable energy skills.

In 2020, researchers at the University were tasked with helping the South Asian country upskill so it could deliver 80% of its energy from renewables. The project has looked to achieve this by building skills in the designing, commissioning and maintaining of renewable energy projects, with a specific focus on solar and wind.

The project, which has six months left to run and is being funded by Erasmus+, is worth £900,000, with Glasgow Caledonian allocated £124,000.

In collaboration with a host of partners from a range of countries, the University researchers established five training hubs across Sri Lanka for technicians (for installation and commissioning), engineers (for design and maintenance) and project managers (for developing and operating the projects).

The research project is being led by Professor Mohamed Emad Farrag, from the University’s School of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment. He is joined on the project by Dr Ahmed Aboushady, Mr Alan Nesbitt, Dr Muditha Kulatunga, Dr Mohamed Elgenedy and Dr Azmy Gowaid.

Professor Farrag said: "Sri Lanka has a vast resource of renewables that had not been used due to the lack of a trained workforce. We had the expertise here at Glasgow Caledonian to train others, so they can make their own countries better and healthy places within the world community. Projects such as this are what our research strategy is all about, tying in with the UN Sustainable Development Goals."