Prysmian has been engaging with schools in the English region of Kent to help explain the project, the role Prysmian will play, and how the UK-Germany submarine connection NeuConnect will help boost energy security in Britian and across Europe. Prysmian’s community engagement activity tied to the NeuConnect project is bringing together students in the classroom, as well as onsite, to help them see the project develop, as well as explaining the works around the project – including getting to know the key equipment, safety procedures and setting a path to learn the technical know-how that is at the heart of one of the major energy transformation projects in the UK. Education has been led Prysmian project team, which was composed of system engineers, land and marine installers, project planners and HSE managers.
Following the successful start in the UK, the project will be rolled out to students in Germany.
NeuConnect is a 725-kilometer submarine interconnector project that will directly link the German and UK electricity grids for the first time. Prysmian will be responsible for the design, manufacturing, installation, testing and commissioning of this project awarded in 2022. Once completed, NeuConnect will be one of the world’s longest interconnector projects and it will contribute to the wider European goals for increased availability of economically beneficial, sustainable, and secure electrical power.
“We typically deal with big clients and big stakeholders. At the beginning of each session, the idea of facing teenagers was scaring and a big question mark. It was summertime and they had to spend time with adults doing a job they knew nothing about. We did our best to present our activities in an entertaining and interesting way, relying on visual support, like photos, footages, and cable samples in front of their eyes.” said Lubna Gemey, author of the initiative and Project Manager for NeuConnect at Prysmian.
Project Manager for NeuConnect at Prysmian
To help engage the students, Prysmian’s project team arranged a game with paper and aluminum rolls and some other materials. The idea was to make students build up a cable themselves. Some of the students played the role of the cable while the others wrapped all this stuff around them. They needed to be careful with layers overlap and tension applied, exactly like we do for cables. The main target was to inspire students and making them aware of a whole world of career opportunities in the energy industry. “I believe we succeeded in that. Some of them asked us how to pursue our careers and what kind of academic path they should follow to end up in this industry. This made us feel very proud of how this initiative was managed.” – concluded Lubna.
