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2019 Class of Open Africa Power Visits Italy

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The 2019 edition of Open Africa Power started its final module in Milan on June 24. For two weeks, 16 students from 8 African countries, selected on the basis of their academic merit during the program, will be attending special sessions delivered by Enel Foundation Italian Academic partners, visiting state-of-the-art electrical facilities managed by the Enel Group, and engaging in different events to develop their network while experiencing first hand the many features of innovation in the energy space.

The program, coordinated by Enel Foundation and its implementing partner Strathmore University, is offered in collaboration with prestigious  universities and longstanding partners namely  Politecnico di TorinoPolitecnico di MilanoBocconi UniversityFlorence School of Regulation and Venice International University. The Open Africa Power 2019 students  will thus experience Italy as an increasingly important  international education hub to unlock Africa’s sustainable future.

Open Africa Power 2019 edition started earlier this year with a group of 60 students – doubling the impact of first edition -  attending the African Module hosted by the University of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. It then continued with an online learning module delivered by Florence School of Regulation and aiming at developing regulatory knowledge and familiarity among participants.

 

The Italian Module

From June 24 to July 5, the OAP candidates will learn about the new frontiers of the energy sector and partake in some important events. 

The first day kicked off with a visit to Enel Smart Grid Lab in Milan, an featured a presentation by the Master in Green Management, Energy and Corporate Social Responsibility (MaGER) students, also supported by Enel Foundation.

The official opening of the Italian module was celebrated with a workshop organized with SDA Bocconi’s Africa Lab to discuss on the role of “Italy as an international education hub to support Africa’s Sustainable Future”. The event was graced by the presence of Patrizia Grieco, Chairman of Enel and Chair of the Scientific Committee of Enel Foundation, alongside the Dean of SDA Bocconi, Giuseppe Soda.

Matteo Di Castelnuovo, the Director of the newly created SDA Bocconi Africa Lab, presented the first research project of the Lab: a joint study with Enel Foundation on the role of education for Africa’s sustainable development outlining challenges and opportunities for Italy.

After Milan, where the group will also have a chance to attend lectures at Politecnico di Milano and visit its wind tunnel, the OAP 2019 cohort will travel to Turin for lessons at Politecnico di Torino and to attend a special event within Italian Tech Week. OAP students will indeed pitch their capstone project ideas to the Italian tech community in a dedicated event taking place at Links Foundation.

Three intense days of classes will conclude at the Venice International University, who joins this year the OAP program for the first time as academic partner of the Italian module. 

The second week of the training will start from Florence with a session at Florence School of Regulation in which participants will also receive a debrief of the recent FSR Global Forum.

The group will then have a unique chance to visit electricity generation and distribution facilities from the Enel Group, starting with the Geothermal power plant of Larderello, jointly with Master students from another program supported by Enel Foundation: the Energy Resources Management (SAFE) program. The road trip also includes a visit to L’Aquila’s high-tech electricity distribution facility from e-distribuzione and visits to power plants in Civitavecchia(Thermal generation) , Collarmele (Wind) and Tevere River(Hydro).

In Rome, the Open Africa Power 2019 finalists will enjoy special seminars with different experts from Enel Group and continue their networking opportunities with a series of meetings and social events.

On Friday, July 5th, the program will end with a workshop at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC) to present the main results from the training and interact with Italian institutions and diplomatic representatives from the 8 african nationalities involved.

Click here to meet the participants of OAP 2019.