The aim of the programme is to provide students with in-depth understanding of a blend of economics, finance, policy and basic engineering principles and their application, to the resolution of problems in the energy sector. The postgraduate programme will specifically provide specialised training in the concepts and skills involved in energy economics. The programme is expected to make a significant contribution towards transforming the energy sector in Africa. It will train future leaders and strategic thinkers for the sector, and create a cutting edge research and analysis of practical issues confronting the continent’s energy sector.Additionally, by establishing the postgraduate programme in an African University which covers the entire range of courses related to energy economics, this is going to reduce the tuition fees to be paid by African students who would have wanted to pursue a similar courses in Europe or the USA, but could not do so due to the prohibitive tuition fees.
These students now have the opportunity to do so in Africa at a reduced cost of almost 30%, compared with the tuition fees in Europe and the USA. The current tuition fees per student for a similar course in the UK, excluding living allowances, is at least £20,000. The tuition fees for such a programme is very high and prohibitive for most developing countries, especially for African countries and this limits the training of critical mass of professional skills and experts on the continent in the area of energy economics.