Human capital for the global PV revolution: experiences with online BSc and MSc education in Solar Energy Engineering

The PV revolution is only getting started. However, it requires human capital, skilled and well-trained individuals, to make this revolution a success. Currently, the wide variety of companies in the sector of photovoltaic solar energy are claimed to facilitate up to 2.8 million jobs worldwide. This number is expected to significantly grow in the near future. In this contribution I would like to share my experience with reaching out to students and professionals in the world with online education programs on solar energy. At the Delft University of Technology, I have been leading the development of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Solar Energy (BSc-level) and a MicroMasters series of 5 MOOCs on Solar Energy Engineering (MSc-level). Over 300000 students around the world have already been enrolled in the first MOOC. The pilot of the MicroMasters is currently running with 10000-15000 students enrolled per course. In this contribution the impact of the course on the students will be discussed. In addition, I will discuss how we plan to offer official credits to the students, that are recognized by companies for real jobs. I will share many examples how the online courses: improve the living standard of the participants, inspire students/professionals to start their own companies, help students decide what master degrees to take and help students/professionals to advance their career in industry.