bp today presented the first ever university textbook on renewable energy sources to help lay the foundation for the training of national engineers in this area, Report informs.
The project aims to support Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) in its efforts to lead the way to developing a new generation of engineers specialising in renewable energy sources. These specialists would drive Azerbaijan's plans for building a strong renewable energy sector, accelerating the country's energy transition.
In addition to the new 220-page textbook "An Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources", the project scope includes the development of a tailored for purpose new learning course for undergraduate students.
"One of the main goals of the country and indeed that of bp and our co-venturers is to help speed up the world's transition to green energy. Azerbaijan has enormous potential for developing a strong renewable energy sector, including green hydrogen, solar and wind energy resources. To make the transition journey efficient and in the future to be able to run the country's green economy efficiently, there's a need to start developing highly qualified and skilled people, including engineers specialising in renewable energy. We hope the textbook and the new course of learning we are presenting today will enable BHOS to lay the foundation for training specialists the country will need in the transition period and beyond. We believe that combined with highly professional experts who would run renewables businesses and deliver new energy projects, the country's great vision for energy transition is sure to be realised," Gary Jones, bp's regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkiye, said.
According to Prof. Elmar Gasimov, rector of BHOS, this is the university's first step towards realising its plans for training qualified renewable energy experts: "It is our decision to include this new area of learning as a compulsory discipline in our undergraduate programme for all majors with the intention to extend it in the future into a master's degree in renewable energy. I would like to thank bp and its co-venturers for helping us take the first step to expand our educational capacity into this new field of engineering. With this project, which will lead us to the development of a new master's degree programme, we are embarking on an exciting journey towards the future of energy."
The total value of the project is 96,000 manats ($56,470) which covers the development and publication of the textbook and preparation of the new learning course.
The project was implemented by BHOS.