Deakin University and Smart Energy Council Bring Australian Expertise to Power India's Solar Workforce Revolution

NEW DELHI, April 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In a significant step towards strengthening India's clean energy future, Deakin University and the Smart Energy Council (SEC) are bringing Australian expertise to support the development of a skilled, future-ready workforce for India's rapidly expanding rooftop solar sector.

Supported by the Australian Government Department of Education and Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water, this initiative underscores Australia's strategic push to partner with India on capacity building, combining global knowledge with local scale to accelerate the country's renewable energy ambitions.

As India advances towards its ambitious clean energy targets, the demand for a highly trained and industry-aligned workforce is becoming increasingly critical. This collaboration responds directly to that need by embedding international best practices into India's skills ecosystem while ensuring solutions remain tailored to local realities.

Smart Energy Council and Renewable Energy Council Asia Pacific Council, CEO John Grimes said, "Australia and India working together have the resources, technology, education and training skills and tenacity to rapidly deploy solar and other renewable energy solutions around the globe – mitigating the energy risk posed by fossil fuels which has never been more critical."

The initiative will focus on developing globally benchmarked occupational standards and curriculum aligned to India's rooftop solar sector, while integrating Australian expertise in vocational education, quality assurance, and training delivery. It will also support train-the-trainer models and pilot programs to strengthen implementation on the ground, alongside robust evaluation frameworks to enable scale and long-term impact.

The Smart Energy Council will lead project delivery and industry engagement, while Deakin University will provide academic quality assurance, cross-system advisory, and governance support, ensuring the initiative delivers both global credibility and local relevance.

Welcoming the collaboration, Ravneet Pawha, Vice President (Global Engagement) and CEO (South Asia), Deakin University, said, "India's clean energy transition represents one of the most significant workforce transformations of our time. At Deakin, we see it as both a responsibility and a privilege to contribute our expertise in academic quality, skilling systems, and industry alignment to this journey. Through this partnership, we are helping shape a workforce ecosystem that is globally benchmarked, locally relevant, and built for scale."

This partnership reflects a broader evolution in Australia–India engagement, moving from traditional education mobility to deeper collaboration in co-developing skills, standards, and systems.

Smart Energy Council Director, Scott Hamilton, said, "Deakin University is at the vanguard of Australia's educational engagement in India. This reflects exactly the kind of practical, long-term partnership our region needs. By investing in local capability, research collaboration and industry links, Deakin is helping build the knowledge, skills and relationships that will support economic growth, innovation and the clean energy transition across the Asia Pacific region and beyond."

By strengthening training quality and aligning closely with industry needs, the initiative aims to build a workforce that is not only job-ready but also future-ready, capable of supporting India's clean energy expansion at scale.

Beyond immediate outcomes, the initiative lays the foundation for deeper Australia–India cooperation in clean energy, skilling, and sustainable development, reinforcing a partnership increasingly defined by shared priorities and practical collaboration.

About Deakin University: Established in 1974, Deakin University successfully combines excellence in teaching, research and effective partnerships with industry and government to deliver high-quality courses and undertake research that makes a difference to the domestic and international communities it serves.

Deakin's South Asia operations commenced in 1994 at New Delhi, India, making it one of the first overseas education providers to set operations in this region. Here, Deakin engages with the government, industry, and academia to share its vibrant culture of education and research.

To know more about Deakin University and its various initiatives as part of its 'in India, with India, for India' approach towards engagement, please visit Deakin South Asia partnerships and pathways | Deakin

About Smart Energy Council (SEC): As Australia's national peak body for the smart energy sector, SEC brings a unique combination of industry credibility, deep membership reaches and practical experience in export facilitation, trade mission delivery and stakeholder engagement.

The SEC represents around 1,000 member organisations across solar, storage, smart electrification, product stewardship, green hydrogen, critical minerals, green metals, skills, training and other emerging clean energy sectors. This provides SEC with direct access to many of the Australian businesses best placed to engage commercially in Asia Pacific energy markets.

SEC partners with the Renewable Energy Council Asia Pacific (RECAP) to combine advocacy, influence, industry access, policy insight, and delivery capability to ensure the proposed activity delivers tangible, trade-ready outcomes for Austrade, Australian and global clean energy solution providers.

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