The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and Strathmore University have today entered into a Memorandum of Understanding that will see the two institutions partner in training and sharing knowledge on water and energy- related subjects.
Training equipment and tools
This partnership will see Strathmore University offer physical space and technical learning capacities to ICRC’s team of engineers, staff, and other humanitarian partners, particularly in the field of renewable energy to enable sustainable power and water supply. The ICRC will in turn equip the University’s laboratories with customized training equipment and tools to the tune of 100,000 USD to be used by students taking these courses. The partnership comes in recognition of Strathmore’s knowledge and expertise in this field under its School of Computing and Engineering Sciences and its already well-established Energy Research Center. The new collaboration is intended to strengthen ICRC’s years of working to secure better living conditions, delivery of health services and livelihood initiatives, which include providing access to essential services as water and power supply for thousands of people affected by conflict around the world.
Increase access to energy and water
ICRC’s Head of Regional Delegation Olivier Dubois noted that, “the number of energy projects implemented as part of our operational responses has increased tremendously over the years and is expected to further accelerate in the context of global transition to renewable energy resources. Our team of specialists, specifically the Water and Habitat engineers, will benefit from this partnership which will see them consolidate their competence in this area as we seek to increase the use of renewable sources of energy in our operations and in our premises,” he said.
Prof. Izael Da Silva, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research and Innovation at Strathmore University added, “this training program will contribute to global efforts in increasing access to modern energy and water. Conflict areas have previously been neglected in such initiatives. Strathmore University is therefore delighted to partner with ICRC in this endeavour”.
By establishing the Energy and Water Knowledge Hub with Strathmore University, ICRC will create training services for ICRC staff and operational partners from all over Africa and beyond. The developed courses will also be made available on the market to other individuals and humanitarian agencies in need to scale up their technical competencies in this field.
The article was written by Ms. Anne Njeri, the Communications Officer at Strathmore Energy Research Centre.
You can contact us at serc@strathmore.edu.
