Strength­en­ing Aquacul­ture In­dustry Through Re­new­able En­er­gies

The STAIRE project aims to strengthen the fishery industry in Senegal through the integration of renewable energy (RE). The sector is of crucial importance for the country, as fish is vital for the local diet. However, fishermen are usually unable to store, process and transport the goods properly due to the lack of energy availability and the relatively high energy consumption for these activities, which in turn are costly. By integrating renewable energy sources, fishermen will be able to handle food adequately and thus generate a stable income.

Université Gaston Berger (UGB) in Saint Louis has a focus on agro- and aquaculture. In the course of the project, a certificate course with a hands-on approach will be developed and implemented at UGB in order to close the gap between theoretical training and practical expectations of the labour market in a sustainable way.  The certificate course combines the field of agriculture / aquaculture with renewable energy technologies.

In order to comprehensively include energy topics in the course offerings, three industrial partners are supporting the project. Firstly, the German companies EnergieKonzepte Schiffer and KTI Plersch Kältetechnik, and secondly the Senegalese company SL Green Energy. All companies not only support the project by transferring knowledge to UGB academics and developing the curriculum, but are also willing to train students in the context of an internship. In addition, annual conferences and career fairs are held to further promote and deepen the relationship between local industry, students and UGB itself.