The SHARE_Africa project at the Department of Energy: intensive training on energy and sustainability to strengthen collaboration between Italian and African universities.
From 5 to 21 November 2025, the three on-campus weeks of the Blended Executive Programme (BEP) Strategic Energy Planning and Industrial Ecology for Local Sustainable and Just Development in an Era of Geopolitical Uncertainties were held at the building EN:lab of the Politecnico di Milano. The training programme, which began online in October 2025 and will conclude in February 2026, is coordinated by Prof. Riccardo Mereu from the Department of Energy. The course is a TNE (transnational education initiative) and it is part of the SHARE_Africa initiative, launched by the IHEA Foundation (Italian Higher Education with Africa) and supported by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). It is funded by the European Union-Next Generation EU.
At a time when Africa is taking on an increasingly strategic role in global transitions, SHARE_Africa aims to promote the birth of Italo-African Science Hubs to sustain long-term cooperation in Education and Research between the Italian and African Academic Systems by means of joint Education and Research Ambassadors while providing policy recommendation to empowering science diplomacy.
The SHARE_Africa project is the result of the experience of the IHEA Foundation – Italian Higher Education with Africa, established in 2020 through the collaboration of six Italian universities: the University of Bologna, the University of Florence, the Politecnico di Milano, the University of Naples Federico II, the University of Padua, and Sapienza University of Rome, with the essential support of the Ministry of University and Research. The Foundation’s goal is to promote an innovative and collaborative approach to transnational higher education across the African continent, from the Mediterranean region to Sub-Saharan Africa.
SHARE_Africa includes the launch of six Blended Executive Programmes (BEPs) across various strategic areas. Among these, the course organised by the Department of Energy of the Politecnico di Milano focuses on sustainable energy planning and industrial ecology for equitable local development, within an international context marked by growing geopolitical uncertainties.
The BEP is designed for young talents with academic prospects: early-career lecturers, junior researchers, as well as young officials from ministries and/or local energy authorities, From a selection of North-African and Sub-Saharan countries.
This BEP has a specific threefold objective for the target audience:
- to increase participants’ knowledge of the just energy transition and clarify implications for Africa
- to provide appropriate tools to study energy solutions with an open source and open data approach
- to strengthen partnerships and collaboration opportunities with the home universities (joint labs).
The group of 23 participants in the BEP coordinated by the Politecnico di Milano—consisting of 9 women and 14 men—represents an active and diverse community of professionals from East Africa (Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania) and Algeria. Among them, 18 participants are affiliated with African universities, mainly with academic backgrounds in engineering, while the others come from research centres (1), international organisations (2), and public institutions (2).
Expected outcomes include the development of skills on global energy-challenge trends and on methodological approaches to national energy balance analysis, as well as a deeper understanding of the Africa Energy Challenge. Furthermore, by the end of the programme, participants will have learned the fundamentals of energy modelling, will be able to assess and design national-level energy balances, and will acquire the ability to evaluate the energy economy of countries.
Testimonials
“The approach adopted is that of true mutual learning: a process in which different skills and perspectives come together, generating shared knowledge and fairer solutions for sustainable development.”
