No fewer than 25 graduates and professionals of Electrical Engineering are undergoing training on energy audit and management at the University of Lagos, Akoka.
The progamme tagged “Training of Trainers” is funded by the European Union (EU), the German government and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
For six weeks, the professionals would be trained on the analysis of energy flows and energy conservation in a building, process or system in order to reduce wastage such that they would be able to apply their knowledge in the field and the classroom.
Project Director, Mr Felix Nitz, said the participants who are professionals but have background in teaching were selected after they applied for the programme about three years ago.
“This training is not an ordinary technical training but a training that will empower people, institutions who are determined to deliver training on their own. Our intention is to empower certain institutions in the country to deliver courses related to energy. All are graduates, who are also professionals and have not only graduated but have years of experience and also have a background in teaching,” said Nitz.
He added that the Nigerian education system needs to address the gap between what the institutions teach and what industry needs. He said the gap shows in graduates who can teach but cannot apply it on the field.
Nittz said: “The teachers in Nigeria have a tendency to be theoretical and what the industry wants are those who have the knowledge and are ready to apply it. This is different from teaching, different from research. University education in Nigeria prepares people to become teachers and researchers but there are no people on ground who can apply that knowledge. There is a deficit in practical skills; and we have trainings that will empower them to be able to apply this knowledge.”
The Director, National Centre for Energy Efficiency and Conservation (NCEEC), Prof Abiola Kehinde, whose centre is hosting the training, said Nigeria needs to key into energy auditing to reduce wastage as well as conserve energy.
“We should key into this laudable initiative in this recession period so that we are able to judiciously account for our enegy usage as well as reduce wastage,” Kehinde said.
One of the participants, a graduate of Electrical Engineering who lectures at Covenant University, Ota, Miss Olayinka Ayo, said: “One thing we are lacking in Nigeria is that there is so much energy wastage. We have a shortage of electricity in Nigeria but this knowledge can help us manage what we have if we can carry out audit of our systems and manage what we have. We have more than 50 per cent people living in the rural areas that do not have access to electricity.”
