Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) in Scotland has secured almost €1m to help Sri Lanka meet its renewable energy targets.
Researchers at the university have been tasked with helping the South Asian country upskill so it can deliver 80% of its energy from renewables.
The project will look to achieve this by building skills in the designing, commissioning and maintaining of renewable energy projects, with a specific focus on solar and wind.
The three-year project has been funded by Erasmus+ and is worth £900,000, with GCU allocated £124,000.
In collaboration with partners from a range of countries, GCU’s researchers will establish five training hubs across Sri Lanka for technicians (for installation and commissioning), engineers (for design and maintenance) and project managers (for developing and operating the projects).
Mohamed Emad Farrag, from GCU’s School of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment, led the pitch for the research project.
He is joined by Ahmed Aboushady, Muditha Kulatunga and Azmy Gowaid.
Farrag said: “Sri Lanka has a vast resource of renewables that is not used due to the lack of a trained workforce.
“We have the expertise here at GCU to train others, so they can make their own countries better and healthy places within the world community. Projects such as this are what GCU’s research strategy is all about, tying in with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”