TERTIARY LEVEL RENEWABLE ENERGY EDUCATION – THE CHALLENGES OF TRAINING FOR CAREERS IN THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY INDUSTRY

摘要

The renewable energy industry is growing rapidly worldwide as a result of the search for new, more efficient and ecologically sustainable ways of producing and using energy. The wind and solar photovoltaic industries alone have grown rapidly at a rate of more than 30% per annum over the last five years. This ongoing growth in the sustainable energy industry has resulted in a growing global shortage of personnel with suitable, specialized training in the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency and greenhouse gas issues. Murdoch University has developed and offers a range of renewable energy courses and qualifications designed to meet the diverse needs of professionals in the sustainable energy industry. Murdoch’s specially designed, multidisciplinary, internationally focused courses in Energy Studies and Renewable Energy Engineering provide undergraduate and postgraduate students with a training in the broad range of knowledge and skills in the scientific, technical, environmental, social and economic aspects reqired to meet the needs of the sustainable energy industry. All of the Energy Studies courses can be studied flexibly, either full-time or part-time, and on-campus or entirely via correspondence or the internet, from anywhere in Australia or around the world. This paper looks at some of the issues and challenges facing renewable energy education and describes in detail the courses offered by Murdoch University, and how they address some of these issues. It also looks at some of the types of work and careers available to graduates from these courses, illustrated by profiles of graduates who have studied both on-campus and by online/distance education.