The 33rd annual session of the UNU-GTP closed on October 14, 2011, with a record number of 30 UNU graduates from the six month specialized courses. The Fellows came from Bangladesh 2, China 3, Costa Rica 1, El Salvador 2, Honduras 1, Indonesia 2, Iran 1, Kenya 9, Marocco 1, Mexico 1, Mongolia 1, Nicaragua 1, Rwanda 1, Sri Lanka 1, Tanzania 2, and Uganda 1. This is the first time that UNU Fellows have come from Bangladesh, Marocco, and Sri Lanka. They were trained in: Reservoir Engineering 9, Geothermal Utilization 6, Environmental Studies 4, Geophysical Exploration 4, Borehole Geology 3, Chemistry of Thermal Fluids 3, and Drilling Technology 1.
During 1979-2011, 482 scientists and engineers from 50 countries have completed the annual six month courses. They have come from countries in Asia (41%), Africa (30%), Central and Eastern Europe (13%), and Latin America (16%). Since 2000, 29 have graduated with MSc. In 2011, eleven have pursued their MSc studies at the University of Iceland. Three MSc Fellows graduated in the spring of 2011 and three MSc Fellows commenced their studies in September 2011.
Capacity building
The aim of the UNU Geothermal Training Programme is to assist in establishing groups of specialists in selected institutions in developing countries with significant geothermal
potential. Priority is given to candidates from countries where geothermal exploration and development is already under way.
Of 482 graduates from 1979-2011, the largest groups of fellows have come from China (78), Kenya (62), the Philippines (31), El Salvador (32), Indonesia (29), and Ethiopia (27).
- China is at the top of the world list in the direct use of geothermal energy.
- Kenya, the Philippines, and El Salvador obtain 10–22% of their total electricity from geothermal energy.
- Ethiopia has started its first geothermal power plant.
The group of Chinese fellows is an example of successful capacity building. The group consists of:
- 30 reservoir engineers
- 15 geothermal engineers
- 15 chemists
- 10 environmental specialists
- 3 geologists
- 3 geophysicists
- 2 drilling engineers
The former Chinese UNU Fellows are staff members of government research institutions, municipal energy utilities and universities. Several of the fellows are in the forefront of geothermal research and development in the country. There are already strong multidisciplinary groups established in Beijing and Tianjin. Geothermal resources are known to exist in every province of China and the market for this environmentally benign energy source is enormous.
