PNGUoT TO DELIVER MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CLIMATE CHANGE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY PROGRAM
The Papua New Guinea University of Technology has embarked on an exciting partnership with the British government to improve energy access education in Papua New Guinea. This collaboration focuses on researching the challenges surrounding the lack of access to energy and developing solutions to improve these services.
This is being delivered through UK Aid’s assistance with the development of the Master of Science in Renewable Energy Program that is set to commence at PNG UoT in July, 2025.
Vice Chancellor Professor Ora Renagi said PNGUoT is delighted to partner with the British High Commission to deliver this program.
“They know that this country needs a lot of support with energy to improve our living standards, security, education, medical services…energy is needed anywhere to stabilize the production of these services. The idea is to provide training to Masters students who can conduct research in these areas where energy is lacking, and how this energy can improve services.”
This program will be delivered by the Sustainable Energy Research Institute (SERI) under the School of Applied Physics.
“We realized that Bilateral partners were supporting the government with energy programs so we wanted to be engaged as a university to either deliver courses on renewable energy or be engaged in energy projects, so that our students can get engaged to do their research, or apply their technology to support their projects.”
On the 8th of April, British Deputy High Commissioner Janette Lucey visited PNGUoT and met with Members of the Senior Executive Management Team, Deans, Heads of Schools, and senior academics to discuss the program.
“It has been great to see how the program is developing and to talk to the faculty and students, to listen to them and to hear what they hope to achieve from the program, what their career opportunities may be and other ways that they may develop clean energy for PNG in the future.”
Ms Lucey said the discussions highlighted the passion for clean energy and to improve the lives of Papua New Guineans in rural areas.
“It’s obvious that there is passion here for clean energy to improve the lives of Papua New Guineans particularly in the rural communities because they don’t have access to electricity which is a basic need.”
“With rural electrification then you allow children to study after dark, street lighting which is a protection for women and girls, and community access to electricity whether that be for cold storage, vaccinations, and medical posts. Just listening to the ideas from the faculty has been enlightening.”
The program is part of the Transforming Energy Access – Learning Partnership (TEA-LP) which is a partnership of African, South Asian and Indo-Pacific universities and other stakeholders, committed to ensuring a highly qualified workforce to drive the transition to sustainable energy access for all.
The TEA-LP is designed to offer practical research opportunities for students, allowing them to apply their learning to real-world energy problems. By bridging the gap between academic education and industry needs, the program aims to prepare the next generation of leaders in renewable energy.
PNGUoT and the British High Commission are looking forward to the implementation of the Masters of Science in Renewable Energy Program next semester.
SERI is now inviting applications for 2025 from graduates from science, engineering, and other schools. For more information about the program,visit https://www.pnguot-seri.org/uk-sponsored-msc-program .