A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed by the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) and two German institutions to provide training for students interested in pursuing an international master’s degree in energy and green hydrogen technology.

A new generation of interdisciplinary professionals capable of coming up with customized solutions to the ongoing energy crisis in West Africa would be prepared and trained under the program by Forschungszentrum Julich GmbH and RWTH Aachen University, both universities in Germany, with funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany.

Four specializations would be offered during the 24-month program, which would be offered at top colleges in Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Niger, and Senegal.

The program, the first of its type in Africa, was created to equip the next generation to meet the energy issues of adaptation and resilience to Climate Change in West Africa, according to Dr. Moumini Savadogo, Executive Director of WASCAl, who signed the MOU.

The program’s interdisciplinary approach, according to the speaker, “will provide a deeper understanding of current energy infrastructures in West Africa, their strengths and limitations, energy policies, practices in the context of a changing climate, and the search for sustainable solutions.”

Professor Peter Letmathe of the Aachen University and Professor Wolfgang Marquardt, Chairman, Forschungszentrum Julich, Board of Directors, signed on behalf of their respective institutions.

The idea was praised by Professor Paul Bonsu, Director General of the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), who was present for the signing.

He stressed the necessity of advancing green hydrogen technology and promised CSIR’s backing.