Finland Futures Research Centre
Institutional Partnership for Sustainable Energy Futures project between Faculty of Engineering of National University of Laos and Finland Futures Research Centre
Lao PDR, or Laos, is a landlocked and mountainous country with abundant natural resources, the main resources being water power, timber and minerals. However, Laos is one of the poorest countries in the world and in 2002 only 20 % of the villages and 34 % of the households were electrified. The main resources for the household energy are wood, charcoal, batteries and diesel generators.
During the recent years Laos has invested heavily in hydropower development, electricity being one of the main export products of the country. Energy plays an important role in government policy and one of the strategic priorities of the Government of Lao PDR is to facilitate access to electricity in all areas and regions of the country in order to foster integrated economic development.
The national goal of poverty reduction is to electrify 90% of the households by the year 2020. This capacity building project aims through improved knowledge of future energy experts at sustainable development and the promotion of renewable energy in rural electrification.
Objectives
The objective of the institutional partnership stems from the need for capacity building in the field of energy and environmental education in the Faculty of Engineering in the National University of Laos (NUOL). The objectives and the planning of activities of capacity building are carried out in close cooperation with the staff from the Faculty of Engineering. Most of the capacity building activities are directed at the staff. An important part of this phase is given to the long-term planning.
The project tasks aim to preparing steps for the formulation of a so called Energy Technology and Energy Efficiency Research Centre, which is intended to be established within the Faculty of Engineering in a near future. Laboratory equipment is purchased for this purpose. The centre will be a main actor in research, dissemination and training in energy technology and energy conservation as well as environmental technology.
Means of Capacity-building
The capacity building phase includes:
- Identification of Future needs of education. The assessment will be carried out in close cooperation with the partner university and in consultation with other stakeholders, such as energy administration and companies
- An evaluation of the proficiency level of the teachers. The aim is to get information on the need for extra education of the staff to improve their teaching skills
- The planning of the capacity building actions will be based on the results of the evaluation
- Teaching methods and teaching material is developed
- Capacity Building lectures/workshops
- In addition to the education taking place in Lao PDR the Faculty of Engineering staff will also participate in international courses. The courses will take place mainly in the Mekong Region and will serve also the function of networking regional universities and exchange of information
- An “Energy technology and energy efficiency laboratory” will be established that promotes sustainable energy education and research training
The project will improve Faculty of Engineering academic staffs’ teaching skills and capacity to conduct research in the field of energy technology, energy efficiency and environmental technology.
The duration of the project is 12 month and it is funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.
FFRC Team
- Jyrki Luukkanen, Project Leader
- Venla Kinnunen, Project Manager
- Jari Kaivo-oja, Expert Advisor
Contact: firstname.lastname@tse.fi
Lao PDR Team
- Khamphone Nanthavong, Director of Lao team
- Sengratry Kythavone, Head of energy section
- Xayphone Houngboungnouang, Deputy Head of Department of Mechanical Engineering
External experts
- Yrjö Majanne, Expert Advisor, Trainer
- Juha Leppänen, Expert Advisor, Trainer
- Suvisanna Mustonen, Expert Advisor, Trainer
FINLAND FUTURES RESEARCH CENTRE