Electronics giant Samsung has launched an initiative to help children in remote areas of the globe have access to modern educational facilities by building PV-powered classrooms.
The award-winning Solar Powered Internet School project installed its first school in the rural village of Phomolong, near Johannesburg, South Africa. The classroom is in a 40-foot shipping container and has solar panels on the roof that can generate up to nine hours of electricity a day.
This energy powers a variety of electronics in the classroom, including Internet-enabled solar-powered notebooks, Samsung Galaxy tablets, a 50-inch electronic board, and Wi-Fi cameras.
Credit: Samsung
Samsung has described it as an “exclusively solar-powered, mobile, and completely independent classroom that is geared towards increasing accessibility to education and connectivity across Africa.”
It can accommodate 21 students at a time, with its entire curriculum digitized and store in a central server. According to Samsung, the school “encourages connectivity and a global perspective” through its two-way learning thanks to Internet access.
The 100 percent solar-powered mobile classroom can be moved by truck, so it can easily reach areas with limited or no access to electricity. The container is also fitted with the right insulation and ventilation system to maintain a comfortable temperature.
Samsung completed the school in October of 2011, but only recently shared extensive details about the project on its official blog. The initiative was named as the ‘African Solar Project of the Year’ earlier this year by the Africa Energy Awards, an award-giving body that celebrates the growth and success of solar energy projects in the country.
The company plans to expand its project into more African regions, aiming to reach 2.5 million students in the country by 2015.
