GALILEO MASTER CERTIFICATE ACHIEVERS & EEC ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) – Karan Sehgal

In this section, we focus on the achievements of those who have attended ECT-EEC courses and those who have attained the internationally recognised Galileo Master Certificate (GMC) to establish their careers in the renewable energy industry.

This month, the EEC talks to Karan Sehgal who works for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Karan attended the Renewable Energy Solutions training course at Edinburgh Napier University in October 2014.

1. What was your experience of the course?

I liked the atmosphere of the course: relaxed, easy to intervene and discuss with lecturer. So overall, a good setting (except the cold in Scotland – but I guess you cannot do anything about that!).

The lecturer is very knowledgeable. I was impressed with how he managed to switch from one technology to another.

2. What is your expertise in the renewable energy field?

My work relates to scouting for potential Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) that are suitable for incorporation into IFAD’s Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP) funded projects in different countries with different agro-ecological conditions. The objective is to design a programme on Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies (TEST) with a specific focus on RETs suitable for use by IFAD’s target groups (resource-poor smallholder farmers, marginalized, rural communities) as well as identify resourcing options (i.e. climate finance) for the scaling up of proposed RETs over the long-term.

3. Why did you choose to attend an ECT-EEC course?

I chose to attend this course to gain some experience on different RETs in the market and understand their suitability in rural areas where technical expertise and skilled personnel is usually limited.