RES4CITY - Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and Fuel Technologies (FT) for Cities
The new research project RES4CITY - sponsored by the European Union will, for a period of 3 years, lay the foundations for challenging the skills shortage in the renewable energy sector.
RES4CITY is an innovative research and education project that has the potential to create 38 million jobs by 2030 and 43 million jobs by 2050 . The research program will be designed by an interdisciplinary group of collaborators across European universities, industries and non-governmental organizations with expertise in energy management, renewable energy systems, renewable fuel technologies and the development and implementation of sustainable strategy design.
The project will create educational programs and tools that provide inclusive opportunities for all students to develop skills in renewable energy systems, fuel technology and sustainability.
RES4CITY aims to ensure that education systems are at the heart of the green transition. The team will co-design educational programs aimed at science, technology, and mathematics (STEM) students, students in other fields, and professionals looking to retrain.
The project focuses on urban contexts , as most of the EU's population lives in cities where resource consumption has steadily increased. By looking at knowledge, attitudes and skills, RES4CITY researchers expect to empower society to take advantage of new opportunities and meet the challenges of a rapidly changing and digital world.
The project is led by Maynooth University in Ireland and has brought together 17 partners from 8 countries. WiTEC's role in RES4CITY is to create awareness of diversity within renewable energy systems.
About the project
RES4CITY is a 36-month project, starting in Q4-2022, and funded by the European Union, that aims to enhance the development of sustainable renewables and fuel technologies in cities by co-designing an innovative educational programme with stakeholders and promoting sustainability and circularity, filling the knowledge and skills gaps for a successful energy transition.
Vision
Our vision is to increase societal resilience by supporting energy transition through the development and wider deployment of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and Fuel Technologies (FT), allowing public and private stakeholders to find ways to acquire new competencies and to self-promote new practices to their working environments and society.
Mission
Our mission is to co-create and promote innovative educational microprogrammes and develop policy scenarios to ensure stronger uptake, highlighting mapped best practices and lessons learnt, and facilitating open innovation among all relevant stakeholders and end-users.
The Context
To meet the Green Deal target of becoming climate-neutral by 2050, a rapid shift towards renewable energy, sustainable fuels, and sustainable development is imperative in the European Union.
The EU has pushed an ambitious vision of “making the EU the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction and production systems”.
To reach this ambitious objective, a concerted action involving a large variety of actors (e.g., industries, public institutions, citizens, etc.) with different needs and priorities, is necessary.
The educational system must be at the heart of this action.
The Actors
The RES4CITY project is setting up a network of hubs so that an educational framework, associated policies, micro-programmes and learning tools can be co-created with all relevant stakeholders.
Co-creation in RES4CITY is defined as an approach to co-developing and delivering innovative solutions at a city level with the direct involvement of different stakeholders: students, universities and the scientific community, technology companies and their professionals, civil sector organisations and companies focused on education, local and national authorities, and industry associations with a need to build individual and organisational capacities in energy transition and the use of green technologies.
RES4CITY PARTNERS
