N$900 000 lab equipment upgrade for NUST’s Namibia Energy Institute
The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) - through its Namibia Energy Institute (NEI) - this week, 24 June 2025, hosted a handover ceremony to mark the donation of a state-of-the-art advanced solar photovoltaic (PV) trainer suite by the Government of Japan. The equipment, valued at over N$900 000, was procured through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Japan Supplementary Budget (JSB) Project.
This trainer suite is already in high demand and is currently being utilised by NUST engineering students for their practical experiments in renewable energy generation and grid coupling.
Shinichi Asazuma, the ambassador of Japan to Namibia, said innovaDon goes hand in hand with capacity-building. “This is why all projects supported by the Japanese Government directly impact beneficiaries through training — with sustainability in mind,” Asazuma said.
Erold Naomab, the NUST vice-chancellor, emphasised the significance of the donation in building capacity for Namibia’s clean energy future, adding that it forms part of a broader Japan-funded project, implemented by the UNDP in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture.
He highlighted that the NEI implemented this project in collaboration with the Kafue Gorge Regional Training Centre from Zambia and the Institute for Decentralised Electrification, Entrepreneurship and Education from Ulm University in Germany.
As a result of this partnership, five short, specialised courses were offered. These courses, he explained, were “carefully selected to form the foundationn of a suite of training modules for the Bachelor of Technical and Vocational and Education and Training (TVET) for Trainers, which is currently at an advanced stage of approval at NUST”.
More than 37 instructors from both public and private TVET institutions as well as engineering lecturers from NUST and the University of Namibia participated in this training programme, he noted.
Naomab further acknowledged that over N$1 million has been invested in training and laboratory infrastructure thus far, with conDnued efforts underway to establish a central green energy laboratory that can serve both TVET institutions and universities nationwide.
This trainer suite is already in high demand and is currently being utilised by NUST engineering students for their practical experiments in renewable energy generation and grid coupling.
Shinichi Asazuma, the ambassador of Japan to Namibia, said innovaDon goes hand in hand with capacity-building. “This is why all projects supported by the Japanese Government directly impact beneficiaries through training — with sustainability in mind,” Asazuma said.
Erold Naomab, the NUST vice-chancellor, emphasised the significance of the donation in building capacity for Namibia’s clean energy future, adding that it forms part of a broader Japan-funded project, implemented by the UNDP in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture.
He highlighted that the NEI implemented this project in collaboration with the Kafue Gorge Regional Training Centre from Zambia and the Institute for Decentralised Electrification, Entrepreneurship and Education from Ulm University in Germany.
As a result of this partnership, five short, specialised courses were offered. These courses, he explained, were “carefully selected to form the foundationn of a suite of training modules for the Bachelor of Technical and Vocational and Education and Training (TVET) for Trainers, which is currently at an advanced stage of approval at NUST”.
More than 37 instructors from both public and private TVET institutions as well as engineering lecturers from NUST and the University of Namibia participated in this training programme, he noted.
Naomab further acknowledged that over N$1 million has been invested in training and laboratory infrastructure thus far, with conDnued efforts underway to establish a central green energy laboratory that can serve both TVET institutions and universities nationwide.
