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World Nuclear University Selects First Fellows
Staff Report
1 February 2005
Over 70 top young nuclear professionals and academics have gained fellowships to study at the World Nuclear University´s first annual Summer Institute, to be held 9 July-20 August 2005 in the USA. About half of the fellows are from developing countries and countries in transition, with financial backing from the IAEA´s technical cooperation program. Women comprise one quarter of the fellows, who come from 34 countries.
The WNU was inaugurated in September 2003. The IAEA helped to shape the WNU Summer Institute´s six-week educational programme, and participated in the selection of Fellows. The course will be held at Idaho National Laboratory with support from the US Department of Energy.
The curriculum for WNU Fellows looks at the future of nuclear technology and will include a special lecture series from world experts, among them WNU Chancellor and former IAEA Director General Hans Blix, as well as other current and former IAEA senior staff. Topics to be covered include:
- The Global Setting: energy supply and demand, global warming and climate change, nuclear technology in sustainable development, and key political issues and trends;
- International Regimes: safety, radiological protection, non-proliferation and security, waste management, transport, nuclear law, and global emissions control;
- Technology Innovation: next-generation reactors, advanced fuel cycle, hydrogen production, desalination, space applications, and controlled fusion; and
- Nuclear Industry Operations: including industry economics, knowledge management, fuel market, comparative risk assessment, public acceptance and communication, and operational excellence.
The WNU is a partnership of the world´s leading institutions of nuclear learning. The WNU´s four "founding supporters" are the IAEA, the Nuclear Energy Agency of the OECD, WNA, and WANO. The WNU´s mission is to foster inter-institutional cooperation and establish accepted global standards in professional and academic qualification. See Story Resources for more information about the WNU Summer Institute.