Training Call - University of Malta Clean Energy Café

Spot, check and counter disinformation on clean energy
A five-day, hands-on training for students and staff

Dates: Monday 26 – Friday 30 October 2026
Time: Mon–Thu 09:00–16:30 · Fri 09:00–13:30 (coffee and lunch breaks built in)     
Format: In person · 30 hours of hands-on learning · small teams of about four
Open to: Students (BA, MA, PhD), academic staff and administrative staff
Recognition: Certificate of participation for all participants

What the Training is about

From electric vehicles to wind farms and power grids, clean energy has become a prime target for false and misleading claims. These narratives shape public opinion, slow down the energy transition and can be deliberately used to weaken trust and security.

The Clean Energy Café is an immersive week where you learn how disinformation about clean energy is built and spread, how to verify what is true, and how to communicate the evidence in ways people actually listen to. The course is learning-by-doing: each day combines a short briefing, a team workshop and an interactive scenario using virtual reality, augmented reality or mapping tools. Working in the same small team all week, you build a complete counter-disinformation campaign step by step and present it on the final day.

Skills you will take away

■ Fact-checking like a professional: apply a six-step verification process and the FLICC framework to real claims, using trusted sources such as the IEA and Eurostat.
■ Mapping disinformation: identify the main claims, emotional triggers, target audiences and spread mechanisms behind a false narrative.
■ Debunking that works: use the “truth sandwich” technique to write an effective social media thread without amplifying the myth.
■ Science communication and storytelling: adapt messages to different audiences, prebunk and reframe narratives, and turn facts into a comic story.
■ Campaign design: plan a counter-narrative campaign from audience insight to messengers, channels and evaluation, and pitch it in 10 minutes.
■ Digital tools: gain practical experience with FrameVR, augmented reality, ArcGIS StoryMaps and the Pixton comic creator.

Certificate

All participants who complete the programme receive a Certificate of participation.

Good to Know

■ Who can apply: University of Malta students at any level (BA, MA, PhD), academic staff and administrative staff. Groups mix backgrounds, so no prior expertise in energy or media is needed.
■ Attendance: you work in the same team throughout the week, so please plan to attend all five days.
■ What to bring: a charged smartphone for the augmented-reality and mapping activities; a laptop is recommended for the online tools and team work.
■ Learning resources: all course materials are open educational resources you can keep using after the training.

Information & Registration

To register or find out more, contact Dr Aitana Radu.

The Clean Energy Café is part of POWER, an Erasmus+ cooperation partnership co-funded by the European Union.