New Zealand expertise in renewable energy will be put to good use in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan when a University of Canterbury (UC) engineering student returns to her homeland.

Sonam Zam is a new graduate of UC’s Master of Engineering Studies (Renewable Energy) programme in the Civil and Natural Resources Engineering department.

Her travel to Christchurch and study at UC was funded through a New Zealand Scholarship provided by the New Zealand Government. The scholarships are aimed at providing tertiary students with vital skills and knowledge to promote development in their home country.

Sonam, who graduated top of her 2012 civil engineering class in Bhutan, says she has learnt a huge amount from the UC master’s degree which will have practical application when she returns to her role at the state-owned Druk Green Power Corporation in Bhutan, which operates and maintains hydropower assets.

“What I’ve studied in New Zealand is renewable energy, hydro, solar and wind and I’m hoping I can apply these back at home. In some remote areas of Bhutan, hydropower isn’t viable so solar and wind-generated energy would be more practical options. I was completely new to those when I came here.” 

Sonam says the UC degree provided an up-to-date world view of climate change. “It also covered what can be done, not necessarily a solution, but a way forward.”

“My Master’s project was focused on pumped hydro which will be important in Bhutan because at present we don’t have reservoirs for storing water.”

She and several other international students awarded New Zealand Scholarships to study at UC, including people from Brazil and Zimbabwe, took part in a completion ceremony in November before returning to their home countries.