UPGREAT – Training Tool for Efficient Schools

Upskilling construction professionals in Greece and Cyprus for deep energy efficiency renovations of school buildings.
The building sector is responsible for more than one third of the total greenhouse gas emissions and for 40 percent of energy consumption in the EU. To reduce emissions in the sector and meet EU climate targets, deep renovation of buildings is required. School buildings are of particular importance in this regard, as they are places of high social interest which have the potential to convey messages – for example about the impacts of energy-efficient buildings – to society. In Greece and Cyprus, a lack of training, awareness and consultancy among building professionals and municipal administrations has been hampering progress in this area.
The project team develops training programmes for different target groups: local authorities, students of technical universities and vocational schools, young engineers, technical staff of local authorities, members of the civil society engaged with deep renovation efforts in their communities, and networks and associations of construction professionals and suppliers. The project team offers courses (four in Greece and three in Cyprus), focusing on school case studies, covering all target groups according to the needs of each country, making sure that each is sensitive to the site’s particularities and adapting the courses accordingly. The trainings are complemented by practical examples and on-site visits, so that participants gain a thorough understanding of retrofitting processes as well as of potential communication problems between design teams and construction teams. Thus, the project team provides the necessary skills to meet the demand for deep renovations that is continuously increasing as buildings age and climate goals’ deadlines approach. The trainings allow everybody involved in schools’ renovation processes to keep up with new developments in energy-efficient renovation and thus contribute to the sustainable transformation of Greece’s and Cyprus’s building sectors and to the overall EU climate targets.
Updated: March 2022
Countries: Cyprus, Germany, Greece
Project duration: 10/21 - 12/23
Funding: 299,426 €
Target groups: Cities, towns and municipalities, Experts, Governments
Implementing organisation: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Partners: Cyprus Energy Agency, Da-Di-Werk Gebäudemanagement, Hellenic Passive House Institute
Ms Margarita-Niki Assimakopoulos
Organisation:
Address:
University Campus, Building of Physics 5
15784, Greece
Email:
masim∂phys.uoa.gr
This project is part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI). EUKI is a project financing instrument by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). The EUKI call for project ideas is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. It is the overarching goal of the EUKI to foster climate cooperation within the European Union (EU) in order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
European Climate Initiative (EUKI)
Potsdamer Platz 10
10785 Berlin – Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)30 338424 570
info∂euki.de