Sunday Times 2
Norway-Lanka university cooperation promoting clean energy solutions
Fourteen Norwegian companies are coming to Sri Lanka this week to discuss the opportunities of clean energy with Sri Lankan counterparts. The gathering is a part of the collaboration between the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and the University of Jaffna on clean energy.
Ambassador Thorbjørn Gaustadsæther
Businesses and industry need interdisciplinary research approaches to societal challenges, such as energy, climate change, food and water supply – which are key to new markets for products and services. Universities are the main source for new knowledge, innovative thinking and skill development on such societal needs. Increasingly too the partner universities’ research networks, with their international links, are privileged pools for the “people-sourcing” that industry and businesses conduct on a local and global basis. Businesses recognise the high value of this expertise.
Over the coming days the collaborating universities will establish a clean energy consortium that includes academics, researchers and private enterprises from Norway and Sri Lanka. The consortium will facilitate research on clean energy technologies, which will be useful for the industry and beneficial for students, staff, educational institutions and private enterprises.
Creates innovation
The collaboration between Norwegian and Sri Lankan universities has yielded positive results. It provides a closer connection between education, research and innovation — adapting to the evolving needs of the labour market and improving the quality of human resources — and promotes the flow of knowledge from the universities to companies, regions and society at large.
Prof. Dhayalan Velauthapillai
Benefits extend beyond the partnerships themselves. University-industry collaborations can deliver innovative commercial products. The university benefits, not only because supporting clients of the laboratories provides valuable experience for students in working in real business situations, but also because businesses can see immediate and tangible advantages working with the laboratories. Some of the contacts made this way can turn into long-term research collaborations.
2,700 school students involved
A competent work force is the prime factor for successful implementation of new technologies. Attracting young students, the future work force, to scientific research is important for technological, economic and social development. The collaboration has successfully reached more than 2,700 school students in the Jaffna district through a clean energy awareness campaign and has provided a platform for innovative ideas. Making science and research attractive to young people will define the future of research and related technologies. Science and technology have an increasing influence on individuals and societies. It is equally important for young people to understand the problems and challenges, and hands-on experience with the technologies will contribute to a better understanding of them.
International cooperation and involvement of expatriates
Development of formal, effective and sustainable institutional cooperation across borders will significantly increase the quality of research, and allow expatriates to contribute to the overall development of their countries of origin in a sustainable and large-scale manner. Enhanced institutional cooperation can also facilitate the integration process within the country and with the expatriate community.
It is encouraging to see Norwegians of Sri Lankan origin taking a lead in strengthening the relationship between Sri Lanka and Norway, as well as between institutions. The ongoing collaboration is an example of commitment and constructive approach towards building a sustainable future. It involves not only the two universities mentioned above, but also the University of Peredenyia and Universities of Bergen and Agder in Norway.
Clean energy for the future
Research on clean energy is the key to address the global challenge, which Sri Lanka too, is facing. Developing clean energy sources contributes to alleviating poverty, fuelling industrial production and transportation, expanding rural development and protecting health while promoting sustainability and environmental quality.
Employing clean energy faces economic, policy, structural and social challenges. It requires not only further technological development and investment, but also a deeper understanding of both the success factors and the obstacles to accomplish widespread adoption.
The main characteristic that influences the acceptance, spread and sustainability of clean energy approaches is the desire for economic development and a constant trade-off between growth and environmental protection. High quality research for the local needs and the investments from private sector can constructively influence pro-clean energy policies.
Technological innovation and capacity in renewables result from a broad range of factors, and not merely from effective research and development efforts. These include the technological capability of a country, innovation-friendly regulation and market conditions that favour adaptive learning. This research collaboration is one of its kind in trying to bring academia and private sector together to achieve longstanding research and entrepreneurial partnerships on clean energy technologies in Sri Lanka.
Overall, the ongoing cooperation between the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and the University of Jaffna is a practical example of how the private sector and research institutions can complement each other, and the positive aspects of the contribution from Sri Lankan expatriates in the field of technical cooperation.