- October 2024
Educating for the Future of the Battery Industry
As the battery industry continues to grow, the need for specialized skills and training increases. João Alves, an expert in environmental engineering and international project management, is the leader of Work Package 2 (WP2) of the Voltage project. In this interview, he discusses the challenges of aligning education with industry needs and how innovative training programs can help educators stay ahead.
João Alves, an environmental engineer from Lisbon, Portugal, has had a long journey that brought him to his current role in battery education. He started in the quality assurance sector, but by 2011, at ATEC, he began engaging with European projects under the FP7 and Leonardo da Vinci funding programs.
“Internationalization became an area of importance for ATEC, not only for providing opportunities for our students abroad but also as a tool to innovate and equip our organization with new and fast-developing technologies,” says João Alves.
One of the projects that deepened ATEC’s involvement in the battery sector was the Erasmus+ funded ALBATTS – Alliance for Battery Technology, Training, and Skills.
“This project began at an early stage of the battery value chain in Europe, giving ATEC insight into the sector’s skill and training needs, while also enabling us to train our staff and build a network of organizations in the field.”
As a leader of the Work Package 2 (WP2) for the Voltage project, João Alves’ role is to ensure the efficient management and coordination of the team’s efforts. His main responsibility is identifying the strengths of each partner and using them to benefit the project’s outcomes.
“We have organizations and people experienced in teaching and training, others in batteries, and others in the industry itself. I try to to understand all these differences and create a team capable of delivering what we’ve promised to the European Commission.”
Teaching and Learning (WP2)
Through Work Package 2, the project aims to revolutionize battery education, empowering educators and education providers to meet the industry’s evolving needs effectively.
The goals for WP2 are clear: to enhance the capacity of education providers in the participating regions to meet the industry’s evolving needs. João Alves describes how they are working on initiatives like an online Teacher’s Forum, where educators can collaborate and access webinars, and professional trainings aimed at preparing teachers to become multipliers in their own regions.
When it comes to aligning educational programs with industry needs, João Alves acknowledges the challenge of staying ahead in such a rapidly evolving sector. The solution, according to him, lies in flexibility within education systems and stronger cooperation with the industry. Educators have to realize that they benefit from building networks and collaborating at an international level
“We are in an era where the technology evolves so fast that is not easy to be aware of all changes and developments. And I would consider this as the biggest challenge of all,” he says.
This requires a change in the mindset of the education and training systems, that need to be much more flexible and consider many ways of learning, besides the formal ones. And here, the industry has a greater role than ever before and must be much more open to cooperate with the education and training sector, especially with VET providers.