Future Leaders in Nuclear Energy Hone Their Skills

The nuclear landscape is facing challenging times: older, experienced nuclear experts and managers are reaching retirement age, while recent events, such as the tsunami in Japan, have tested the expertise of professionals in the field and the confidence of the general public in the safety of nuclear energy.

With the aim of responding to these challenges, ICTP and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) jointly organised a three-week school on nuclear energy management. The focus was on preserving, sharing, and developing nuclear energy knowledge accumulated through years of experience.

The school has brought together young professionals from developing countries, especially those countries that want to include nuclear power in their existing energy mix and use other peaceful nuclear applications, and provided them with a broad international perspective of nuclear energy management. The topics included economical, geopolitical, legal, technical, and environmental aspects of using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Apart from attending lectures by experts in the field, the participants took part in discussions, completed projects and case studies, attended panel reviews, and had field visits to the Krsko Nuclear Power Plant in Slovenia and Elettra Synchrotron Light Laboratory in Trieste, Italy.

One unique feature of the school has been the international educational experience it afforded. ICTP in Trieste is the only location where a global nuclear energy management school is offered and the participants are from many different countries. ICTP and IAEA will partner again and host a school on nuclear knowledge management, which runs from 5 to 9 September 2011.