The closing ceremony of the 25th year of the United Nations University Geothermal Training Programme was held on October 17, 2003. Twenty UNU Fellows from 12
countries received their UNU Certificates after completing the traditional 6 month specialized courses. They came from China (3), Costa Rica (1), El Salvador (1), Ethiopia (1), Guatemala (1), Iran
(3), Kenya (2), Mongolia (2), Poland (2), Philippines (2), Russia (1), and Turkey (1).
At the closing ceremony, Mr. Kristjan Skarphedinsson (Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry) spoke on behalf of the Government of Iceland, Dr. Valgardur Stefansson (Director of the Energy
Resources Division) on behalf of NEA, and Mr. Jaime Austria on behalf of the UNU Fellows. The UNU-GTP Director (Dr. Ingvar B. Fridleifsson) described the main activities of the 25th anniversary year
which was very eventful. He drew special attention to the fact that there was a record number of women in the class of 2003, eight as compared to a maximum of four in previous years.
The UNU Fellows received specialized training in the following subjects: Borehole geology (2), Geophysical Exploration (1), Reservoir Engineering (8),
Chemistry of Thermal Fluids (3), Environmental Studies (3) and Geothermal Utilization (3).
Four former UNU Fellows (from Kenya 2, Iran 1, and Mongolia 1), have undertaken MSc studies in 2003 under a cooperation agreement with the University of
Iceland. The teaching and research supervision of the UNU-GTP in 2003 was carried out as follows: by geothermal specialists of the Geoscience Division of NEA (now ISOR) 60%, other specialists at NEA
10%, the University of Iceland 15%, and specialists at other institutions, energy utilities and consulting engineering offices 15%.
The photo below shows the traditional class-photo taken at the end of the closing ceremony. More information about the group of Fellows in 2003, can be found on our
website under
Miscellaneous - Group 2003.
