The Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) is participating in the international project "Growing Rwandan Energy Awareness Through HighER Education" (GREATER), which aims to support the energy transition in the East African country of Rwanda. The project aims to close the energy gap in the country to provide equal access to electricity to all Rwandan households by 2024. According to the development strategies, off-grid, decentralized power generation using renewable energy will play a key role in this. These developments require both the apprenticeship of a new generation of qualified specialists and the spread of awareness in society.
During the three-year funding period, six new Degree programmes will be developed at Rwandan universities and two existing programmes will be renewed. Furthermore, new laboratories in the field of energy technology will be established to ensure a practical emphasis / orientation of students' apprenticeship at local universities. In addition, four real laboratories, so-called "living labs", will be created for the Rwandan population, where various activities on intelligent energy production with renewable energies will take place. On the one hand, students are to gain experience in a realistic environment at these locations. On the other hand, the local population will come into contact with renewable energies and become familiar with them. "This project and especially the development of Living Labs serve to transport renewable energies to as many different groups of the Rwandan population as possible. Students, parents, farms and small businesses can see and try out practical applications and share experiences in these Living Labs," says Professor Dr. Arne Grassmann of the Hochschule Niederrhein.
To meet the needs and expectations of various stakeholders, they are involved in all planning activities at early stages. This ensures that the project outcomes in terms of educational goals, improved employability as well as socio-economic benefits of the project are in line with the expectations and needs of the Rwandese.
The Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) participates in the project by developing procedures for stakeholder exchange as well as drafting guidelines for the Degree programmes and "Living Labs". In other areas, such as project management, HSNR provides support. To this end, individuals from the Faculties of Industrial Engineering, Economics, Mesh and Process Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Food, Nutrition and Hospitality Sciences will travel to Rwanda several times over the three-year funding period to share their expertise.
The project, which started on January 1, 2023, is led by the University of Parma and funded by the European Union with 800,000 euros as part of the European ERASMUS+ program. The Hochschule Niederrhein is joined in the project by the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences and the Italian Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism of the National Research Council. On the Rwandan side, the project is supported by four Rwandan educational institutions and nine partners, including the Rwandan Ministry of Education and the main national companies active in the energy development market.
