Strategic Energy Planning and Industrial Ecology for Local Sustainable and Just Development in an Era of Geopolitical Uncertainties (Politecnico di Milano). The BEP is one of the six Inter-University Specialising and Intensive Courses under the TNE – Advanced Skills.
In the current era of great uncertainty and unpredictability, science and research may be considered as intercultural values, representing a sort of universal language to support international and intergenerational dialogue and to jointly solve the complex global challenges affecting our society. At global level, this consideration is embedded in the extraordinary call for university engagement followed by the launching of the UN Agenda 2030 and the SDGs and is also a key pillar in the UNESCO Mid Term strategy 2022-2029. At EU level, the EU commission launched in 2021 the Alliance for Science Diplomacy and activated early in2024 the working groups that respond to the Global Service Facility of the DGRTD to promote new paradigms of international cooperation and science diplomacy. More specifically capacity for science is alsocentral in the political dialogue on Science, Technology and Innovation between the EU Commission and the African Union. At Italian level, during the Italian Presidency of the G7 the role of Science and international cooperation has taken space and it is remarkable that the Prime Minister has also launched the Mattei Plan as a strategic long term instrument to empower the peer-to-peer cooperation between Italia and Africa where education and research are pivotal as highlighted within the NRRP calls for Transnational Education by the Ministry of University and Research.
The Just Energy Transition in Africa. Within all of this plans and programme a key role is played by the energy sector and the relevance of a just energy transition in Africa. Indeed, if there is good news for the global energy transition this is not always the case for Africa. The energy situation in Africa can be defined as a paradox: the continent is rich in natural resources, but its ability to transform them into sustainable energy services for all is still limited. Africa consumes 6% of global energy but has a rapidly growing population and economy. Africa needs a reliable, affordable, and clean energy system to promote local socio-economic development and meet the aspirations of the 2063 Agenda, which envisions a more prominent Africa on the global stage.
At the same time, the world—and especially Europe, which is geographically closest—needs Africa to embark on a sustainable energy transition to meet global 2030 Agenda and to proper balance the energy trilemma. Africa is growing rapidly both in population and in key economic sectors. Predictions suggest that between 2030 and 2050, Africa will have the second-highest economic growth rate after India. Africa will play an important geopolitical role internationally, as it is home to the extraction of many critical raw materials, such as platinum, cobalt, and manganese. These materials are essential for the energy transition in Europe. The middle class is growing, and governments want to create added value in their own countries. Additionally, 20% of the population is young, and the continent needs 18 million jobs annually, but currently, only 3 million jobs are created. Meanwhile, Europe will face a major workforce shortage by 2028.This scenario opens up significant opportunities for new collaborations between Europe and Africa , between Italy and Africa as well to act as a “facilitator” in the Africa’s energy transition also to deepen the role of Science, Education and Research in the sector and to foster capacity for science in the sector.
Goals and Target Audience
The BEP is designed for young talents with academic prospects: early-career lecturers, junior researchers, as well as young officials from ministries and/or local energy authorities. From a selection of North-African and Sub-Saharan countries.
This BEP has a specific threefold objective for the target audience:
- to increase participants’ knowledge of the just energy transition and clarify implications for Africa
- to provide appropriate tools to study energy solutions with an open source and open data approach
- to strengthen partnerships and collaboration opportunities with the home universities (joint labs)