It’s Elementary: Announcing the SHERLOCK Erasmus+ project

Three o’clock will be partnering in a new project SHERLOCK (Supporting tHe Energy tRansition of the buiLding stOCK), funded by the European Erasmus+ programme dedicated to education. The project, coordinated by the University of Genoa, counts 16 partners and is expected to start in September 2023.

The building sector accounts for 40% of the EU’s primary energy consumption and 35% of carbon emissions. Accelerating building retrofit in Europe is thus critical to achieve the EU’s decarbonisation targets by 2050. However, this requires a skilled workforce that is able to understand and apply the multidisciplinary dimensions when retrofitting buildings, covering the technical, financial, and societal aspects.

SHERLOCK aims to tackle this challenge by developing a MOOC-based micro master programme and a VET (Vocational Education and Training) oriented short training course based on microcredentials and case study education, targeting students and professionals from both the building energy retrofit sector and the financial sector. The project will help overcome the skills mismatch between financial operators and project developers.

The programme will be codesigned with VET providers and stakeholders through the setup and deployment of knowledge centres, which will act as a reference point for exchanging ideas and as a lasting alliance between universities, businesses, VET providers and public institutions.

“Three o’clock will be responsible for communicating and disseminating the learning programme that will be designed and rolled out, and engage closely with stakeholders to build knowledge, raise awareness and boost the transition towards a climate neutral Europe. While dissemination activities will focus on knowledge and information transfer towards stakeholders as well as opening dialogue and creating two-way exchanges, communication activities will focus on promoting the project and enhancing its visibility and educating on the skills gap and the challenges related to buildings, energy efficiency and the financing of retrofit.”

“Building on our experience in another EU project that we’re partnering in, RES4CITY, we will set up knowledge centers and develop their engagement strategy. The main objective of this network is to promote the development and implementation of building energy renovation measures, to contribute to the continuously identifying educational needs and multidisciplinary skills gaps, to support the co-design of the SHERLOCK’s multidisciplinary programmes, and to enhance dissemination and outreach of SHERLOCK’s key exploitable results.”