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Paving the way for renewable energy education at universities

Release date:
6 February 2023
  • The first ever university textbook in Azerbaijan on renewable energy engineering;
  • Contributing to the country’s energy transition efforts.

 

bp on behalf of its co-venturers in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Shah Deniz and South Caucasus Pipeline projects – SOCAR, TPAO, LUKOIL, NICO, MOL, Equinor, SGC, INPEX, ExxonMobil, ITOCHU, TotalEnergies, Eni, ONGCVidesh – today presented the first ever university textbook on renewable energy sources to help lay the foundation for training of national engineers in this area.


The project aims to support Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) in its efforts to lead the way to developing a new generation of engineers specialising in renewable energy sources. These specialists would drive Azerbaijan’s plans for building a strong renewable energy sector accelerating the country’s energy transition.


In addition to the new 220-page textbook “An Introduction to Renewable Energy Sources”, the project scope includes the development of a tailored for purpose new learning course for undergraduate students.

 

Gary Jones, bp’s regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye, said:

 

“One of the main goals of the country and indeed that of bp and our co-venturers is to help speed up the world’s transition to green energy. Azerbaijan has enormous potential for developing a strong renewable energy sector including green hydrogen, solar and wind energy resources. To make the transition journey efficient and in the future to be able to run the country’s green economy efficiently, there’s a need to start developing highly qualified and skilled people including engineers specializing in renewable energy. We hope the textbook and the new course of learning we are presenting today will enable BHOS to lay the foundation for training specialists the country will need in the transition period and beyond. We believe combined with highly professional experts who would run renewables businesses and deliver new energy projects, the country’s great vision for energy transition is sure to be realized.        

 

Prof. Elmar Gasimov, rector of BHOS, said:

 

“This is our university’s first step towards realizing our plans for training qualified renewable energy experts. It is our decision to include this new area of learning as a compulsory discipline in our undergraduate programme for all majors with the intention to extend it in the future into a master's degree in renewable energy. I would like to thank bp and its co-venturers for helping us take the first step to expand our educational capacity into this new field of engineering. With this project, which will lead us to the development of a new master's degree programme, we are embarking on an exciting journey towards the future of energy.”

 

 

The total value of the project is 96,000 AZN ($56,470) which covers the development and publication of the textbook and preparation of the new learning course.  

 

The project was implemented by BHOS.


Notes to editors


bp has been present in Azerbaijan for 30 years safely, efficiently and reliably operating major oil and gas exploration, development and transportation projects. To date, together with its co-venturers, bp has invested around $84 billion into projects it operates in the country. In Azerbaijan, we are committed to supporting sustainability efforts focusing on the areas where we believe we can make the most difference.

 
bp’s extensive social investment activities and capacity-building efforts in the country have had a positive impact and brought tangible benefits to people, improving their lives and making a difference. 


The company’s social investments cover such areas as building local capabilities, education, development of communities, local enterprises, the environment, sporting potential as well as research into and promotion of the country’s rich cultural heritage. Overall, since the start, bp itself and together with its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan, has spent around $105 million on social investment projects in this country.

 

In Azerbaijan, bp directly employs around 2,300 Azerbaijani citizens who make over 90 per cent of the company’s professional staff.

 

For more information about bp and its co-venturers’ social investment projects please visit the bp Azerbaijan site at www.bp.com/azerbaijan

 

Further information

 

Tamam Bayatly at bp’s press office in Baku. 

Telephone: (+994 12) 525 58 95