SOLTRAIN (Southern African Solar Thermal Training and Demonstration Initiative) was formed in 2009 as a regional program on capacity building and demonstration of solar thermal systems in the SADC region.
SOLTRAIN is funded by the Austrian Development Agency and OFID, and their aim is to support targeted countries to move away from majority fossil energy supply system, to a sustainable supply structure based on renewable energy and particularly solar thermal.
In South African, SOLTRAIN’s local partners are SANEDI (South African National Energy Development Insitute) and Stellenbosch University’s CRSES (Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies).
ABOUT THE SOLTRAIN BURSARY PROGRAMME – FIELDS COVERED & SELECTION
SOLTRAIN is inviting students to apply for the SOLTRAIN Solar Thermal Project Support Scheme for Postgraduate Students, for studies within the first half of the 2024 academic year.
Students who are from one of SOLTRAIN partner countries (which include: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Mozambique), pursuing studies within the solar thermal energy area may apply.
The value of the bursary is a maximum of €2500 Euro (equivalent to over R43 000 South African Rand).
Applicants may view abstracts from student funded by the SOLTRAIN bursary in 2020/2021.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SOLTRAIN BURSARY
Applicants must satisfy the following minimum entry criteria before applying (please note that failure to satisfy all the requirements will lead to your application not being considered):
- You must be a South African citizen OR a citizen of one of these countries: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho or Mozambique
- You must be registered for Postgraduate studies, for the first half of the 2024 academic year
- You must be pursuing studies towards a topic of solar thermal energy (the following topics will be given preference):
- Potential analysis for solar thermal systems within the health sector, in South Africa and Mozambique (including: survey of hospitals and clinics in the country and number of beds and monthly average number of patients; calculation of hot water used in hospitals and clinics; and derivation of potential for thermal solar systems for the health sector in these countries)
- Potential analyses for solar thermal systems at educational or social institutions (including: calculation of hot water used and derivation of potential for solar thermal systems for the specific applications; and calculation of potential electricity savings)
- Potential analyses of solar thermal systems within the tourism sector (including: definition of important tourism regions; survey of beds and average amount of tourists in the regions; calculation of hot water used; derivation of potential for solar thermal systems in the tourism sector)
- Analysis of measurement data from selected systems from the SOLTRAIN project (measurement data will be provided by SOLTRAIN; analysis of measured data with economic and/or technical input)
- Topics related to the use of solar thermal technologies for industrial applications (heating/ drying/ cooling)
- Documentation and analysis of mass housing programmes in Namibia and South Africa, with mandatory installation of solar water heaters (including: documentation of the programme – location, amount of houses, number and size of installed Solar Water Heaters; questionnaire based interviews with a large number of users on the satisfaction with the Solar Water Heater; lessons learned; potential mass housing programmes for this survey: Namibia – NHE houses, OSONA village project / South Africa: 1 million solar water heater programme; student abstracts from previous year)
HOW TO APPLY FOR THE SOLTRAIN BURSARY
Applications must be submitted online at: SOLTRAIN Postgraduate Bursary Application 2024
Submit clear copies of the following supporting documentation along with your online application (the submission of these documents is compulsory – if any items are missing, your application may be disqualified):
- ID document for proof of citizenship (certified copy)
- Details about your solar thermal project (in 300 to 600 words)
- Motivational letter explaining why you should receive the bursary (in 300 to 600 words)
- Estimated budget for your funding request (up to a maximum of 2500 Euro)
- Proof of tertiary registration for the 2024 academic year (on institutions letterhead)
- Full academic transcript/ record to date (on institutions letterhead)
- Letter of support from a supervisor
CLOSING DATE FOR THE SOLTRAIN BURSARY
16 February.
(Applications submitted after this date will not be accepted – please apply before the closing date to ensure your application is considered.)
CONTACT THE SOLTRAIN BURSARY PROVIDER
For any queries related to this bursary programme, please contact your nearest institute here: https://soltrain.org/organisations/contacts