Graduation of Fellows 2024
The 45th session of the Six-Month Geothermal Training Programme closed on Thursday 14th of November, with 26 Fellows graduating from in the specialized courses. This was another eventful year for our fellows with continued volcanic unrest on the Reykjanes peninsula and a threat of a new eruption at any time during their training but the group managed to pull through as ever before and complete their final projects on time. This year's group of Fellows came from 13 countries: Colombia 3, Comoros 1, Dominica 1, El Salvador 1, India 2, Indonesia 2, Kazakhstan 1, Kenya 7, Mongolia 2, Nicaragua 1, Peru 1, Philippines 2, and Tanzania 2. The Fellows were trained in: Project management and Finances 6, Geothermal Utilization 6, Chemistry of Thermal Fluids 5, Environmental Science 5, and Reservoir engineering 4.
From 1979-2024, 816 scientists and engineers from 67 countries have completed the annual six month training. They have come from countries in Africa (39%), Asia (34%), Latin America (17%), Central and Eastern Europe (9%), and Oceania (1%). Among these have been 213 women (26%). This year was the first time that the majority of the trainees were women or 54%.
The group arrived in the end of May and soon after the Reykjanes peninsula started stirring again resulting in an eruption in August. A visit to the eruption site for geothermal experts is something that should not be missed and a visit to the site was an amazing experience for many of them. This year's group arrived in summer as opposed to spring as has been the case with the previous groups so fewer complained about the cold and wind this time around. However, the autumn and beginning of winter gave them a taste of the cold conditions this country has to offer. Admittedly, the autumn was quite gentle on them this year with many calm sunny days. The group was both punctual and studious throughout their training but as before some enjoyed their weekends in exploring the countryside and the different activities on offer. 
GTP is proud of their achievements during these six months of the geothermal training as well as their personal development as they explored new horizons and expanded their international networking which will surely become beneficial in their future cooperation and development.
At the ceremony speeches were given by Bjarni Richter, Director of the GTP, Sveinborg Hlíf Gunnarsdóttir Director – Monitoring and training at ÍSOR, Nína Björk Jónsdóttir, Director General of the GRÓ Centre, who gave a farewell speech to the retiring Director Gudni Axelsson, and introduced a special visitor from UNESCO, Antonio Abreu who gave a short talk to the graduating group, and finally Evelyne Mukami Wanyoike from KenGen, Kenya on behalf of the graduating class. The ceremony was also broadcast on zoom.
This session is the fourth one under the GRÓ brand as of 1 January 2020, the Geothermal Training Programme joined hands with UNESCO, under the umbrella of the GRÓ Centre.
We congratulate all the fellows and look forward to following their careers in the future.
All the best to the class of 2024!