A total of 93 Namibian young people have been awarded scholarships under the Youth for Green Hydrogen (Y4GH) Programme, aimed at equipping human capital in the envisioned green hydrogen sector.
The Y4GH adopted by the Harambee Prosperity Plan II in March 2021 aims to ensure an output of trained young Namibians, ready to take up positions in the emerging green hydrogen industry, as early as 2024.
Speaking during the joint launch of the pilot project on green hydrogen and Y4GH scholarships awards ceremony at State House on Wednesday, Higher Education Minister Itah Kandjii-Murangi revealed that a total of 1 128 applications were received.
She noted that following a preliminary screening and data validation, 466 applicants were shortlisted.
She indicated that out of the 466, 35 males and 29 females have registered for master’s programmes, whilst 21 males and eight females have registered for technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
“To ensure that the evaluation of the applicants was transparent and fair, an inclusive committee was established with representatives from the various education and training institutions,” Kandjii-Murangi noted.
She further said out of 65 master’s beneficiaries, 45 are registered at local universities, whilst 23 out of a total of 29 are registered at local TVET centres across the country, adding that 12 out of 14 regions are represented with Khomas accounting for 40 per cent of all candidates.
The minister said Y4GH was funded to the tune of N.dollars 87.7 million by the German Government through its Ministry of Education and Research.
“During the process, it became clear that scholarship programmes faced the risk of not having green hydrogen-related programmes readily available for student placement. In this regard, the Namibian Government once again relied on the strategic partnership between the two countries to set up hybrid green hydrogen study programmes, inclusive of coursework in both countries,” she noted.
At the same event, German Minister of Education and Research, Bettina Stark-Watzinger said Namibia has outstanding conditions for the cost-effective production of green hydrogen and the development of a renewable energy supply chain.
“Research shows Namibia has a huge scale of profiting economically from the exports of renewable energy and Germany as an importer of energy will also benefit. This partnership is a win-win situation for both our countries,” she noted.
Source: Namibian Press News Agency
