Continuing Education Challenges

Last June I had the good opportunity to be a guest speaker at the Second Balkan Power Conference held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (June 19-21, 2002). Aside from the "nostalgic" opportunity to finally visit my long-time friend and colleague, Professor Milan Calovic, I was very favorably impressed by Belgrade. I recalled my earlier visit to Professor Calovic in 1981 during the socialist era. Although I thoroughly enjoyed that early visit, I realized that the joy came almost entirely from being with him and his family. I could recall almost instantly our visit to the famous Belgrade castle, the old markets, the countryside and much more. Yet, last June I could sense a new joy in the hearts of the people, a joy as you would walk in the city center, shopping areas and also the countryside. No question about it, Belgrade is one of the most impressive cities in Europe.

The speech I was asked to deliver was entitled, "Continuing Education Challenges in a Fast-Changing Power Environment." I had welcomed this opportunity as DSI had already been involved in innovative continuing education for the past 15 years, and with me personally since 1974. The main theme, however, is that the social and political atmosphere we are facing today and the days to come is characterized by two factors: Uncertainty and fast change. With uncertainty training budgets tend to shrink, but with fast change the need for continuing education grows exponentially. This has created a big dilemma to DSI’s educational programs. We keep updating the training topics and materials, but with a fixed format. This is not sufficient. That is why we have embarked on the "Power Markets and Technology Training Program," as described separately on this website. We hope that through customer "feedback" we will eventually find the right formula.

Stay tuned till next month. In the meantime, I appreciate your direct feedback – adebs@dsipower.com