New academic year begins in autumn

The new offshore wind study programme has been running successfully since October 2012 with its first course and is already close to graduation in May 2013. 24 participants are impressed by both the unique content and the overall study concept. The study programme thus strengthens the offshore industry not only by teaching relevant content, but also by sharing experiences.

The offshore wind study programme is a targeted further education course for professionals in the offshore wind energy industry. In order to meet the major challenges in the realisation of offshore wind energy projects, the industry needs rapid and needs-based further education for its own and future employees. The offshore wind study programme meets this need for targeted further education by comprehensively examining the various contents from turbine technology to ship charter contracts and financing for the first time and also creating the necessary transfer with its concept of active study. 12 study scripts address the various topics and are dealt with in depth by the authors themselves in five four-day face-to-face seminars. Parallel to the seminars, participants work in fixed teams on case studies in order to apply the content in practice and expand their knowledge through mutual exchange.

Sharing knowledge and experience is the be-all and end-all, as failures are particularly serious and costly in this industry. The network that is created with the experts and participants in the offshore wind study programme is therefore of great importance for the entire offshore industry. The participants exchange ideas in an open study atmosphere and thus gain a deeper understanding of the projects. Ultimately, the entire industry benefits from this exchange and the network of experts that grows year on year.

In any case, the participants in the first year are already convinced that the nine-month programme has paid off for them. "The programme is theoretically sound and practical at the same time - that's an ideal mix, especially when it comes to realistically assessing offshore wind energy projects," explains one participant. "The contacts are also worth their weight in gold."

Applications for one of the 24 study places for the next round in 2013/14 are still possible until 30 June 2013.

The offshore wind study programme is a joint project of ForWind - Centre for Wind Energy Research at the Universities of Oldenburg, Hanover and Bremen, the wind energy agency WAB e.V. and the City of Oldenburg. Financial support is provided by Bremer Landesbank, nkt cables GmbH, Nordwestassekuranzmakler GmbH & Co KG and Siemens AG.