Graduation of Class 2010

The Closing Ceremony of the 32nd annual session of the UNU-GTP was held on October 22, 2010. A record number of 28 UNU Fellows from fifteen countries completed the traditional six month specialized geothermal courses. The Fellows came from China 3, Commonwealth of Dominica 1, Comoros 1, Costa Rica 1, Djibouti 1, El Salvador 2, Eritrea 1, Ethiopia 1, Indonesia 3, Kenya 8, Mongolia 1, Nevis 1, Nicaragua 2, Rwanda 1, and Yemen 1. They were trained in: Chemistry of Thermal Fluids 5, Reservoir Engineering 5, Borehole Geology 4, Environmental Science 4, Geothermal Utilization 4, Geophysical Exploration 3, and Drilling Technology 3, and Reservoir Engineering 3.

During 1979-2010, 452 scientists and engineers from 47 countries have completed the annual six month courses. They have come from countries in Asia (42%), Africa (29%), Latin America (15%), and Central and Eastern Europe (14%).  Amongst these have been 81 women (18%).  

In 2010, thirteen Fellows have pursued their MSc and two their PhD studies at the University of Iceland. Five MSc Fellows graduated in the spring of 2010 (from El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Twenty five MSc Fellows have graduated since the MSc programme was started in cooperation with the University of Iceland in 1999.

At the graduation ceremony, speeches were given by Dr. Ingvar B. Fridleifsson, Director of the UNU-GTP, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Össur Skarpheiðinsson, and Ms.Thecla Munanie Mutia, an environmental scientist from the Geothermal Development Company in Kenya, who spoke on behalf of the graduating class. The Foreign Minister, Dr. Össur Skarpheiðinsson, presented the graduates with their UNU Certificates.