A solar-powered cold room is only as reliable as the technician who looks after it. To build those skills, SophiA is launching SOCRATES, the SophiA Online College for Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Thermal Energy Systems. Its first course starts on Tuesday 20 October 2026.
Over the past years, SophiA has shown that off-grid, solar-powered cooling with natural refrigerants can keep vaccines and medicines safe in rural health facilities across Africa. Keeping these systems running for decades depends on people: technicians who understand how a refrigeration system works and who can commission, maintain and repair it locally.
SOCRATES was created for them. It is led by Prof. Michael Kauffeld of Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences. He coordinated the SophiA project and has worked on natural refrigerants for close to 40 years. He is a Fellow of ASHRAE, a long-standing member of the UNEP Refrigeration Technical Options Committee, and a past president of IIR Commission B2.
A proven course, updated for natural refrigerants
The first course, Basic Refrigeration, has a long track record. Michael originally developed it with Danfoss about 20 years ago to teach refrigeration fundamentals to staff without a refrigeration background. For SOCRATES it has been extended to nine one-hour lessons. New sessions cover the safe charging, commissioning and servicing of hydrocarbon systems, the natural-refrigerant technology at the heart of SophiA.
What you will learn
- The physical principles of refrigeration
- How a simple refrigeration system is built
- What each main component does
- The key terms used in refrigeration and air conditioning
- How to select simple products
- How to safely charge, commission and service hydrocarbon refrigeration systems
Trained by SophiA technicians
Each week, participants complete a short assignment of about one hour and receive individual feedback. The homework is marked with the help of Elie, a refrigeration technician from Burkina Faso, and other SophiA-trained technicians. Technicians trained through SophiA now help train the next generation.
How it works
- 9 live online sessions on Zoom, every Tuesday from 20 October to 15 December 2026
- 16:00–17:00 Central European Time, which is 14:00 GMT on 20 October and 15:00 GMT from 27 October onwards
- Sessions recorded where possible, so participants can catch up if their connection drops or they miss a lesson
- An online classroom with slides, recordings and a discussion forum for questions between sessions
- Participants who attend 80% of the sessions and have 80% of their assignments accepted pass the course
Who should join?
Refrigeration and air-conditioning technicians, trainees and young professionals, as well as engineers and health-facility staff responsible for cooling equipment. No refrigeration background is required. Technicians working on, or hoping to work on, solar-powered cooling for health facilities in Africa are especially welcome.
Places are limited
The course is capped at 200 participants, and registrations are already coming in. Register for the sessions here: Register for SOCRATES Basic Refrigeration.
Coming next: Advanced Refrigeration and more
From January 2027, SOCRATES will offer an Advanced Refrigeration course on natural refrigerants, also held weekly on Tuesdays. It is a natural next step for those completing Basic Refrigeration. Future courses may also cover the application of solar energy systems and associated technologies, such as solar cooking.
Follow SOCRATES and upcoming courses on this webpage, coming soon!
We warmly thank the Fourfold Foundation and the SPF Institute for Solar Technology at OST – Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (Mihaela Dubita, OST project manager) for their support through SophiA Bridge, which continues the work of the SophiA project and will cover part of the costs of the SOCRATES courses.
