Together with its partners TU Dresden and IST Lisbon, UNESCO-IHE introduces the Erasmus+ (Erasmus Mundus) Joint Master Programme in Groundwater and Global Change - Impacts and Adaptation (GroundwatCH). The programme offers a distinctive curriculum built on the cornerstones of hydrogeology, hydrology and climatology. With this curriculum GroundwatCH aims to increase the knowledge and skills regarding the interactions between groundwater, surface water, climate and global change, as well as the need to consider and benefit from these interactions when dealing with adaptation.
The two-year programme will start for the first time in September 2015. Students will kick off their studies in Lisbon, Portugal and then go to Delft, the Netherlands and Dresden, Germany. Graduates will receive MSc degrees from the three partnering institutes.
The CRECE project supports Cuba in the provision of regionally relevant multidisciplinary education in sustainable energy engineering and renewable energy development. This is done in order to ensure that Cuban higher education institutions (HEIs) are better equipped and able to provide high-quality experts for the ever-growing societal and energy sector development needs.
The Cuban energy sector is undergoing a state-led transformation. So far, this 'Energy Revolution' has improved energy efficiency but harnessing renewable energy (RE) resources is still lagging far behind. In order to attract investors, meet the government's RE targets, and reduce CO2 emissions and environmental pollution from fossil fuels, Cuba needs national expertise and experts in RE development. CRECE answers this call by training skilled experts and enabling cross-sectoral and regional cooperation possibilities. Cuban partners will be better equipped to conduct international-level energy related research and provide sustainable energy experts to the growing labour market needs.
In the long run, CRECE will impact on Cuban energy self-sufficiency and domestic growth. By harnessing Cuban RE potential, not only greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced, but also expenditures and dependency on Venezuelan oil imports will be minimised, while simultaneously improving domestic energy access and security.
The project begins by creating a roadmap for addressing energy transition needs in Cuba through higher education. Following this roadmap, CRECE improves capacity and internationalisation of partner HEIs through (1) modernising learning outcomes on sustainable energy and sustainability; (2) improving teaching approaches; (3) reviewing curricula and updating learning modules; (5) improving materials, tools, equipment and facilities for quality education; (5) creating networks with relevant energy sector stakeholders; and (6) facilitating International research collaboration and partnerships.
The primary objective of the project is to support Cuban partner HEIs in the provision of up-to-date and relevant education in sustainable energy systems to meet current societal and labour market needs. Regional cooperation is fostered through partnering with Costa Rica, showcasing how Costa Rican national policies have had a strong impact on prioritising renewable energy and transforming the energy sector. Cross-regional knowledge transfer is enabled by engaging European RE experts.
CRECE project is funded by Erasmus+ Capacity Buiding in Higher Education.
The Portuguese Government has approved the Industrial Strategy for Ocean Renewable Energies (EI-ERO) with the aim of developing the country's offshore wind potential. According to EI-ERO, offshore renewable energies have the potential to supply 25% of the electricity consumed annually in Portugal and create a new export chain in these new technologies. The government envisages that potential exports in this field could increase up to ten times the current employment in the active sectors, with the greatest potential for exports seen in the development of the floating wind technology.
The overall objective of TWIND is to create a network of excellence that will dynamize a pool of specialized research professionals and trainers in the domain of offshore wind energy to support an emerging industry in Portugal in a field with a very strong anticipated growth and no dedicated existing training curriculum.
WavEC will be the pivot research institution of the low performing Member State (Portugal) coordinating efforts with internationally-leading counterparts at the EU level (Spain, UK and The Netherlands) and enhancing its excellence and innovation capacity through the exchange of knowledge with these leading research organizations. The combining capabilities of partners will open the grounds to exploit existing research results and invest in developing more knowledge.
These objectives will be fulfilled through a set of strategic activities well-structured throughout the project including specific training programmes on thematic topics, short-term scientific meetings, long-term staff visits, networking meetings, attendance to relevant conferences in the field, knowledge transfer workshops with stakeholders and an annual event.
The networking activities and exchange of knowledge will stimulate research activities and highly qualified services that impact the economy and the society, thus benefitting not only WavEC and the partner organisations, but in general Portugal.