Explainer | What Is the READ Project — and Why It Matters for Africa’s Energy Future? | Dawan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa faces a paradox: it holds vast renewable-energy potential, yet millions of people remain without reliable electricity, while universities struggle to train the skilled workforce needed for a green transition. The READ Project—short for Renewable Energy Advancement for Inclusive Development in Sub-Saharan Africa—aims to bridge this gap by transforming how renewable energy is taught, researched, and linked to jobs across the region.

What is the READ Project?

READ is a 36-month higher-education capacity-building initiative funded under the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) program, running from November 2025 to October 2028. It is coordinated by SIMAD University with a total EU grant of €752,488.20, and brings together universities from Africa, Europe, and Türkiye.

The consortium includes beneficiary institutions in Somalia, Tanzania, and Malawi, alongside European partners—most notably Italy—and an associated partner country, Türkiye, creating a multi-regional platform for academic cooperation.

Why READ Is Needed

Across Sub-Saharan Africa, energy access gaps remain severe, even as demand for clean-energy professionals rises sharply. Universities often lack:

● Updated renewable-energy curricula

● Modern laboratories and teaching tools● Strong links with industry and policymakers

READ responds by aligning education, research, and labor-market needs, ensuring that renewable-energy training leads to real jobs, innovation, and inclusive development—not just academic certificates.

Core Objectives

The project focuses on three interconnected goals:

Strengthening university capacity to deliver inclusive, industry-relevant renewable-energy education and research.
Building university–industry collaboration so graduates gain job-ready skills.
Supporting green entrepreneurship, enabling students and researchers to launch clean-energy startups.

What READ Will Deliver

Over three years, READ will implement reforms and activities across participating institutions, including:

● Modernized renewable-energy curricula and modules

● Training for academic staff (Training of Trainers – ToTs)

● Applied research and policy engagement

● Pilot teaching, internships, and industry placements

● Strengthened quality-assurance systems

● Expanded Africa–EU academic cooperation

How the Project Is Structured

READ is organized into six work packages (WPs):

● WP1: Project management and coordination

● WP2: Curriculum development

● WP3: Capacity building and research

● WP4: Teaching and implementation

● WP5: Quality assurance and monitoring

● WP6: Dissemination, sustainability, and impact scaling

This structure ensures that academic reform, teaching, quality control, and public outreach advance in parallel.

Policy Alignment: From Local to Global

READ is not operating in isolation. It aligns with major international and regional frameworks, including:

● UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

● The Paris Agreement on climate change

● The European Green Deal

● EU Global Gateway strategy

● African Union Agenda 2063

● National Development Plans and NDCs of participating countries

This alignment positions READ as both an education project and a climate-development intervention.

Expected Impact

By the end of the project, READ aims to deliver measurable outcomes:

● 6 universities implementing industry-aligned renewable-energy curricula

● 10 accredited renewable-energy modules institutionalized

● 500+ students enrolled in new courses

● 65+ academic staff trained in teaching and research

● 8+ peer-reviewed research papers published● 1 international academic conference on renewable energy

● 3,000+ people reached through dissemination platforms

Why It Matters for Somalia and the Region

For countries like Somalia, where energy access, youth unemployment, and climate vulnerability intersect, READ offers a long-term solution: building local expertise rather than relying on external contractors. By embedding renewable energy into university systems, the project helps create a generation of engineers, researchers, and entrepreneurs capable of driving Africa’s clean-energy future from within.

In short: READ is about turning renewable energy from a policy ambition into a skills-driven reality—with universities at the center of Africa’s green transformation.