Remote Energy's ASPIRE Solar Educators Program Reaches New Global Heights
By: Jessica Perrilliat Smith
Remote Energy’s instructional development program gives new PV instructors an opportunity to grow their skills and confidence to deliver effective and safe PV training programs with hands-on labs. We often partner with educational organizations who share our mission of high-quality solar training, have a focus on gender equity, and aspire to develop solar training programs in their community.
This year’s cohort was supported by Bay Wa r.e. Solar Energy Systems GmbH, and we are grateful for their service! We were able to partner with three organizations to create Regional Lab Training Centers: Women in Renewable Energy Liberia (WiRE Liberia), Arusha Technical College Solar Training Center (ATC STC) - Tanzania, and Women in Renewable Energy Association (WREA) Uganda. All organizations chose teachers to attend our 6 week training, and a total of 8 participants were in attendance (6 women and 2 men).
Our instructors had the opportunity to take aspirations and turn them into reality. It is through ASPIRE, they could work with a mentor to purchase solar lab equipment, take the virtual Solar Educator training course to learn how to safely teach hands-on labs, with a goal to host and teach an in-country hands-on lab class, create a plan to increase target number of students trained, and implement overall solar objectives & collect student metrics.
Held March 20 – April 30, 2023, the program was filled with 80 contact hours focused on the development of teaching skills for implementing hands-on labs and other capacity building techniques relevant to the development of a solar training program.
The online portion of independent coursework included: instructional videos, activities, and practice quizzes for participants to gauge their understanding of the concepts. Participants also completed a solar lab each week with their equipment, uploaded detailed pictures for Remote Energy (RE) instructors to evaluate and give feedback.
Each week, there was a required 1.5 hour zoom class, where we asked participants to explain their lab results and discuss the main themes for the week. The virtual connections were valuable teaching and networking experiences. Participants also submitted two videos of themselves teaching course topics and received personalized feedback on both the technical concepts and best teaching practices from the Remote Energy instructors.
The feedback we received overall was a true reflection of the impact that takes place when people come together with a shared vision, purpose, and goal. From passionate instructors to eager partners and genuine support, there was a 23.5% gain of confidence in teaching solar education. In reference to our participants, 100% said it was an excellent learning experience, and the curriculum was relevant to their country.
We look forward to seeing where our participants’ paths take them and the knowledge they impart to their students. We also can’t wait to share more on our continued partnership with Women in Sustainable Energy and Entrepreneurship (WISEe), Women in Renewable Energy Liberia (WiRE Liberia), Arusha Technical College Solar Training Center (ATC STC) - Tanzania, and Women in Renewable Energy Association (WREA) Uganda. A big thank you to our partner BayWa r.e. Solar Energy Systems GmbH (SES), for supporting our Global Women’s Program and helping make this program a reality!