Rethinking solar energy education

9-May-2016 - Published by Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews the landmark paper "Rethinking solar energy education on the dawn of the solar economy".

The study offers a detailed overview onto an advanced educational course on solar energy for an international audience, seen as a critical resource for the sustainable development of either high and low income countries.

Combining different approaches, the article describes a multidisciplinary graduate course (Solar Master) for science, engineering, economics and management students.

Students ending the Solar Master will become acquainted with state of the art solar energy systems, and will be able to increase public and policy makers' understanding of solar energy as an intrinsically reliable and cost-competitive energy source to produce electricity on utility scale, as well as for distributed generation.

Joining the solar energy revolution

A true solar energy revolution is unfolding across the world. Solar energy, in brief, has become a critical, strategic resource of today's and tomorrow's global economy.

Managers and entrepreneurs cannot be left any longer without a closer understanding of its nature and its consequences. It is therefore timely to include the Solar Master in current top MBAs (Master in Business Administrations).

The feasibility of 100% renewable electricity supply in top industrialized countries is no longer a futile exercise, but rather a realistic perspective for which thorough recent studies indicate how the transition could be achieved.

The transition to large-scale use of renewable energy, namely to a true solar economy with its economic, environmental and social benefts, requires a better education of managers - one for which true understanding of renewable energy becomes a signifcant part of their scientifc literacy.

Leading educators

The course is given by Professors Pagliaro and Meneguzzo, with the involvement of some leading professionals from the global solar energy industry who will bring a wealth of practical business experience to the classroom.

Pagliaro and Meneguzzo are amongst the leading advocates of renewable energy.

Meneguzzo, a renowned physicist and scholar with research interests in energy and bioeconomy, has established the weather forecast centre of Tuscany, today's celebrated LaMMA, and as member of national scientifc energy committee has drafted the FiT law that transformed Italy into the world's leading country in terms of installed photovoltaic power per capita.

Pagliaro leads one of Europe's primary research centres in the feld of nano- and sustainable chemistry. Often cited for excellence in teaching and writing, he has co-authored 20 books and >160 research papers. In his 2008 book Flexible Solar Cells, translated also in Mandarin, he introduced the term "helionomics".

Having hosted the likes of Philipp Rudolf von Rohr, Aldo Steinfeld, Yuri Baurov, Bao Lian-Su, Ralph Nuzzo, Keith Barnham and Kisuk Kang, their jointly chaired SuNEC – Sun New Energy Conference annually held in Sicily since 2011 is amongst Europe's premier meetings in solary energy science and technology.

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