Abstract:

The LEDSOL transnational project aims at contributing to the initiative of the European Commission and the Horizon 2020 program of fostering long-term collaboration between Europe and Africa in the framework of sustainable research and innovation in renewable energy. Energy is a key driver of national development and energy access is crucial to the delivery of fundamental services such as healthcare and education. Photovoltaics is the most promising renewable energy technology in terms of availability, cost reduction and efficiency gains. At the same time, providing reliable and safe drinking water will help unlock economic potential by allowing time for education, work and imagination.

The World Water Day aims to bring global attention to the world’s freshwater resources and to emphasize that access to clean water has enormous and complex value for households, health, education, culture, economics and the integrity of our natural environment. A multidisciplinary consortium comprising partners from Algeria, Togo, Romania, Germany and Finland is gathering the needed expertise for the project implementation and the objectives set up in the proposal while fostering close and long-term collaboration between Europe and Africa. The proposed technology will give access to affordable energy for clean water production to a wide number of beneficiaries and will maximize the socio‐economic impact through its deployment to remote areas.

Thorough its implementation, LEDSOL will support the inclusion of cutting-edge technological aspects in the education of young researchers and university students. By involving academic partners in both Europe and Africa, LEDSOL will contribute to enhanced university curricula, attractive positions for master and doctorate students as well as opportunities for the students to become acquainted with company specific aspects related to commercialization strategies and business planning. A user-centered design will provide both researchers and educators with the opportunity for an in-depth exploration of the requirements, needs, constraints, and barriers of the targeted user groups. We will employ mixed-methods such as participant observation, focus groups and problem-centered, partially standardized interviews with representatives of the target group. Special attention will be paid to the improvement or facilitation of daily life through the improved availability of clean drinking water.

An overview of the LEDSOL project along with the strategies for user-involvement and expected input for the technological design and impact evaluation are presented in this paper.

Keywords:

Europe-Africa collaboration, renewable energy, clean water, university education, user-centered design.