By Nneka Nwogwugwu
50 students drawn from various African countries have been selected to join a growing list of scholars benefiting from practical skills training offered at the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) Centre of Excellence.
“I did not have the slightest idea what was ahead of this training, after this training, I will gain skills that will show me how to utilise geothermal energy in my country, Kenya is the hub of geothermal exploration in Africa. In Morocco, we’re still at the exploration stage, therefore we are yet to tap into this clean energy “said Seatane, a geochemist.
Fikre Feleke, a senior exploration geologist from Ethiopia, is also one of the students seeking knowledge from this centre of excellence, the aim to help his country exploit clean energy.
“Ethiopia is making good progress in geothermal exploration but lacks capacity, skills and expertise. I’m attending this training to get knowledge in geochemistry, geophysics, geological and geophysical mapping and environment,” he said.
Sabah Essa Ibrahim from Djibouti is excited to be in Kenya for the first time to be trained on geothermal exploration skills by well-grounded experts in international deep drilling projects.
“We have hot springs and I’m excited and motivated to learn more as this is my first time to train about geothermal exploration exploits outside Djibouti. It’s a great opportunity for me and I have learned many lessons that I will utilise in my home country,” said Essa, who works in the Office of Geothermal Development in Sa’edatu Haruna Mohamed, a research officer at the Energy Commission of Nigeria, says attending the training in Kenya marks a new beginning in her career.
“It is an exciting course. I hope from the knowledge, skills and wisdom I will acquire, I will be able to impact my colleagues at home, and hopefully, Nigeria will start exploration. We have not so far started,” she said.
Another beneficiary of the training is Emmanuel Mtana, a mechanical engineering graduate at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. He says that sharing best practices with top geologists has opened up his world view on geothermal energy.