The Geothermal Energy European Education Network (Geo3EN) Geo3EN has been mandated by 20 associated partners from industry and research in the field of geothermal energy in Europe to remedy the lack of qualified junior graduates which master all elements of the geothermal energy value chain. The objective of Geo3EN is to design an international multi-site MSc of excellence in geothermal engineering that will provide students with competencies in geology, material sciences, mechanical engineering, power system management, modelling, energy economics but also project management, entrepreneurship and intercultural awareness to successfully lead and design complex geothermal energy projects. The MSc programe will be entirely taught in English. To achieve its objectives, Geo3EN launches four European stakeholder consultations to co-design this 2-year MSc programmes together with its associated partners and stakeholders of the European geothermal sector. This will ensure that the competencies acquired during the MSc will be in line with the needs of industry and research organisations. The stakeholder consultations will be prepared with the help of a competence matrix and quantitative and qualitative tools to ensure fruitful exchanges on the competencies to be integrated based on the mid term strategies of the stakeholders for the next 10 years. Based on these stakeholder consultations, new innovative pedagogical tools will be developed and tested and integrated into the curriculum of the future MSc. Geo3En is a highly complementary consortium which regroups 3 Higher Education Institutions from France, Germany and Croatia and 1 Innovation and Research Center from Iceland. Geo3EN has seen the light as academic spin-off of the H2020 research project MEET on Enhanced Geothermal Systems (GA# 792037) which unites 16 partners from 5 different European countries (8 industrial partners, 2 applied research institutes and 6 Universities).
Geo3En’s aimed to contribute in making Europe the leader in geothermal energy education and geothermal energy applications by harnessing the quality of existing programmes to create a multi-site European MSc of Excellence in Geothermal Engineering. Geo3En also aimed to share knowledge and expertise of its consortium partners to provide their students with the required competencies and skill sets in line with the needs of industry and research organization. Its final objective was to design an international multi-site MSc of excellence in geothermal energy (taught in English) providing students with skills in geology, materials science, mechanical engineering, energy systems management, modelling, energy economics, but also project management, entrepreneurship and cross-cultural awareness, in order to successfully lead and design complex geothermal energy projects. Strong links exist between the academic partners involved and industry. These connections permit students to grow their professional network which in turn greatly facilitates their employment perspective.
The geothermal sector is growing and is on its way to become a pillar of the energetical transition. At present, no dedicated educational programme combining surface installations expertise, management, energy science, regulations and reservoir engineering exists in the field of geothermal engineering. Several stakeholders from the geothermal industry have noticed a lack of qualified engineers in this field which is operating at the frontier of science and engineering. All stakeholders strongly support the innovative Geo3EN initiative. The Geothermal Energy European Education Network (Geo3En) was created by a highly complementary consortium formed by UniLaSalle (France), Technische Universitat Darmstadt (Germany), University of Zagreb (Croatia) and, originally, the Innovation Centre of Iceland (replaced after its dissolution by Reykjavik University, Iceland). Geo3En started as an academic spin-off of the H2020 MEET research project on enhanced geothermal systems (https://bit.ly/3deUrNW). The Geo3En consortium was mandated by 20 associated partners from geothermal energy industry and research in Europe to tackle the lack of qualified junior graduates mastering all elements of the geothermal energy value chain.