Implementing solutions to decarbonize heating and cooling will require thousands of skilled professionals involved in design, program management, operations, administration, and maintenance. This competency gap poses a very real threat to successful decarbonisation of heating and cooling at scale.
Via the Heat Academy, Heatnet Global offers training and innovation initiatives to help fill the industry's competency gaps. Heat Academy is an independent and non-for-profit organisation based on a collaborative model involving partnerships with local colleges, universities, public institutions, energy operators, technology suppliers, and the wider supply chain.
Training
The Heat Academy's training platform connects participants to the expertise of seasoned industry experts and provides skill development to bolster execution intelligence and fill the industry's competency gaps. These workshops focus on the theoretical and practical elements necessary to undertake different decarbonizing strategies, such as district heating/cooling networks, energy efficiency retrofit, heat pumps, geothermal heating solutions, and wastewater heat recycling.
Since the start in 2012, some 7000+ professionals in 12 markets have participated in training sessions organised by the Heat Academy in collaboration with local partners. The training courses are organized into three categories:
Professional Workshops focusing on the theoretical elements of implementing smart energy infrastructure as well as the soft skills required to do so successfully.
Vocational Workshops focusing on the hands-on practical skills required for design, installation, operations and maintenance of systems. To deliver these modules we work in collaboration with local universities, colleges, and other actors within the broader supply chain.
Online Master Classes focusing on a range of topics related to "strategy", "conserve", "convert", "connect". The purpose of these is to increase awareness and raise the global profile of green heating and cooling alternatives.
Although there are some modifications, these workshops are largely standardized with lessons that can be copy-pasted and used for a range of projects in an array of locations. All instructors have long operational experience and a proven track record in the topics they teach. The training sessions also involve presentations from operators and suppliers to demonstrate the practical applications of what is taught.
Key target groups for training activities include experienced professionals looking for new career opportunities, decision makers considering alternative strategies to address the climate emergency, young talent attracted by the challenge of creating a sustainable future, and anyone else in the supply chain of goods and services related to heating and cooling.Training is offered as individual workshops OR modularised courses with in-depth curriculums.
Innovation
Through the Heat Academy, Heatnet Global also offers collaborative innovation programmes involving universities, progressive industry partners in the supply chain, and other industry organizations. With its partners, Heat Academy pilots innovative bundled system solutions, testing their viability. The Heat Academy acts as a facilitator in this, bringing the most innovative and progressive individuals, cities, institutions, universities, and companies into dialogue with one another in a structured forum. The overall mission is to speed up the development of cost effective and high performing technologies and practices to facilitate the implementation of sustainable energy infrastructure.
