Nuclear Knowledge Management

Statement of the Director General to the IAEA General Conference in 2005: Excerpt on Nuclear Knowledge Management

The management of nuclear knowledge has emerged as a growing challenge in recent years, and we have had varied success in addressing different aspects of the problem. Regarding one aspect – the preservation of six decades of nuclear science and engineering studies – we are making good progress. As one key example, the Agency´s International Nuclear Information System (INIS) has been expanding at a record pace, with over 100 000 bibliographic records and more than 250 000 electronic full text documents added last year alone. Students at 273 universities now have free access to the INIS database, and the system has grown to nearly 1 million authorized users.

A second aspect of knowledge management relates to retaining the benefits of nuclear safety experience – sometimes referred to as "maintaining the safety case" – at operational reactors. In this area too, we have had some success. The Agency recently participated in a joint assistance mission with WANO (the World Association of Nuclear Operators) at the Krško nuclear plant in Slovenia, focused on helping plant management to systematically capture undocumented information – such as the safety and technical insights of retiring workers. Building on a recommendation from that visit, we hope to develop policy guidance on this topic for nuclear power plants, with strategies and procedures based on best industry practices.

Regarding the third aspect of nuclear knowledge management – developing the next generation of nuclear scientists and engineers – we still have much to do. While some countries (such as China and India) are turning out science and engineering graduates at record rates, the same does not hold true for others. The creation of the World Nuclear University (WNU), as a global network of relevant industrial, educational and research institutions, has been a step in the right direction. The insights gained from standardizing the curricula of the European Nuclear Engineering Network are being shared with other such networks and educational institutions. And the first WNU Summer Institute, with considerable Agency support, was held earlier this year, with good results. A workshop last month in Trieste, at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, also focused on best practices in supporting young nuclear professionals. However, we must do much more, in my view, if we are to ensure succession planning for the ageing nuclear workforce – and particularly if the projected expansion of nuclear power is to occur.