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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

First Solar Training Programme unveiled in Oman

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To boost the training of Omanis in the solar energy sector, the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hussam Technology Company LLC (HTC) and Three Pillars Consulting (TPC). The goal of this unique cooperation is to establish the first ‘Solar Training Programme’ in Oman on GUtech’s campus in Halban, just outside of Muscat. This training programme 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).


“We are very glad to participate in the founding of a special Solar Training Programme at GUtech” said Prof Dr Michael Modigell, Rector of GUtech. BP Oman will sponsor the supply of the outdoor training facilities and along with HTC, TPC and SEI a total of 3 training classes will be delivered 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 3-year period. The outdoor space will be roughly 400 m2 and provide the capacity to train upwards of 30 students per session.


“Germany has the largest installed solar power generation capacity per capita” said Prof Dr Modigell. He went on to say that GUtech would like to capitalise on the even greater amount of readily available solar


resources here in Oman and is looking forward to helping facilitate this


state-of-the art solar training programme.


The training curriculum developed by SEI has been used internationally to prepare interested persons who want the 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.

The benefits of this have already started to be seen, as 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 but also their motivation and understanding of how important and unique this programme is for Oman,” said Michael Tsang, CEO of Three Pillars Consulting. 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.


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