Investing in Kosovo’s Next Generation of Energy Sector Professionals

Wednesday, May 31, 2017
USAID's REPOWER Kosovo team with students that have completed the second round of the internship program.
USAID REPOWER Kosovo

USAID’s REPOWER Kosovo project has just completed the second round of its internship program for the students of University of Prishtina (UP) and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).  The second round of the program took place from October, 2016 through April, 2017 and placed 16 interns – including 9 women – with Kosovo’s energy institutions: the Energy Regulator’s Office, the Kosovar Electricity Transmission, System and Market Operator - KOSTT, and the Kosovo Electric Company - KEK.  At the April 25th closing ceremony, the interns and the representatives from the energy institutions credited the program with enabling the interns to gain valuable hands-on experience and helping the companies to fuel interest in the sector by engaging with aspiring future energy professionals. The internship program is a key part of an overarching objective to develop human capital for Kosovo’s energy sector, given that most of the generation capacity in Kosovo was constructed more than 30 years ago and personnel working at the generating stations are approaching retirement age.