In an exciting development for the vaccine cold chain, Dulas are proud to launch the new Dulas Academy training resource, made possible with a grant from the Welsh Government. For the first time, this makes available online the high quality cold chain training courses that Dulas is renowned for.
The Dulas Academy offers a comprehensive online training programme in the form of videos, slide presentations and downloadable information. Courses are offered to participants and cover all aspects of installation, operation, and maintenance of either solar direct drive or mains powered refrigerators.
An essential part of any successful vaccination campaign is the training of the people involved, and refrigerators are no exception. Making sure that people know how to set up and operate Dulas refrigerators is critical for long term reliability. Before the pandemic, Dulas’s engineers regularly provided in-person training courses to customers in Africa, Asia and South America. Such work is often logistically challenging and the long-haul flights required are a significant source of CO2 emissions. The worldwide COVID-19 travel restrictions provided the impetus to find a different approach. Seeing a chance to increase the reach and sustainability of their training, Dulas decided to develop an online platform to serve as the primary source for in-depth product training.
The Dulas Academy offers a comprehensive online training programme in the form of videos, slide presentations and downloadable information. Courses are offered to participants according to their role and cover all aspects of installation, operation, and maintenance of either solar direct drive or mains powered refrigerators.
Our Account Manager for International Projects, Catherine McLennan, who played a leading role in developing the Dulas Academy, explains its rationale:
‘Now more than ever we understand how crucial vaccinations are in protecting us from disease. The more people who are vaccinated globally, the greater the protection for everyone; but vaccines can only work if the cold chain that distributes them is reliable. The best way to do that is to train the people who install and use our equipment, so that they can do their job to the best of their abilities. The Dulas Academy is the perfect means to ensure such essential training continues to be carried out, regardless of the impact of the pandemic.’
Senior Renewable Energy Engineer, Andrew Rowbottom, has delivered Dulas training programmes in person across the world for many years, and draws parallels with how education here in the UK has gone online to enable learning to continue during the pandemic:
‘The beauty of doing this is that training becomes possible anywhere in the world where an internet connection exists. Many of the countries where our refrigerators operate have enthusiastically adopted mobile internet technology, making access to the Dulas Academy perfectly feasible in even remote locations. As well as making it possible to continue training while travel restrictions exist, the Academy also enables us to greatly increase the accessibility of our training. Now, more people than ever can obtain training in the installation and use of our refrigerators, directly from us the manufacturer. This will improve the long-term reliability of the equipment, saving vaccines, and saving lives.
‘The Academy has been recognised for its innovative concept and was part funded by the Welsh Government’s COVID-19 Innovation Support scheme; without this grant this project could not have gone ahead and we are extremely grateful for the continued support of the Welsh Government towards our work.’
