A CASE OF STUDY ON YOUTH INTEREST IN ENVIRONMENTAL ENIGINEERPROFESSION WHICH IS IN THE HEART OF RENEWABLES

Environmental engineering programs are extremely important having in view the projected job growth and the increase in global demand for solutions to face environmental challenges. Universities all over the world respond to this need by providing specialized environmental engineering degrees. It is also the case of Constanta Maritime University which is coming to reply to this request by developing the Engineering and Environmental Protection in Industry program. This is a result of the fact that there is a strong need that each of us should be informed about the environment situation, through out environmental awareness. This concept leads to public health and well being of the environment. On the other hand, we assist to population growth- process direct linked to higher energy demand. In this context, the use of renewable energy sources is of great importance since their impact on the environment is considerable less then traditional ones. This paper exposes a planned and carried out activity by Constanta Maritime University and its 4 partners- high schools with energy profile in the country. The activity called “I choose to become a specialist in renewables” is, in fact, a competition aiming to rank essays reflecting the vision of high school students regarding this profession, to analyze a survey conducted to assess the level of environment awareness of the young participants and to facilitate a discussion between the respondents and teachers specialized in the field. The findings are encouraging: the scientific board of the competition found motivating ideas in the presented essays and the survey revealed that the students coming from high schools with such a profile shows maturity and understanding of current environmental issues.