Nuclear Knowledge Management Section

The IAEA’s nuclear knowledge management activities are delivered through two main mechanisms that focus on: formulating and providing guidance and services on nuclear knowledge management methods and facilitating knowledge sharing networks and capacity building through nuclear education and training.

Methodology and Services

The Section’s nuclear knowledge management Methodology and Services team supports nuclear organizations in Member States by providing guidance and support in the  implementation of knowledge management programmes, as well as by helping to explore the risk associated with loss of critical nuclear knowledge. This is done predominantly through developing methodologies and guidance documents for planning, designing and implementing nuclear knowledge management programmes and by means of IAEA Knowledge Management Assist Visits which evaluate an organization’s knowledge management practices and provide recommendations for  improvement.

The team also offers expertise in the area of management of design related knowledge and information for nuclear facilities across the lifecycle. It offers guidance on lifecycle approaches to knowledge-centered Plant Information Models, which support best industry practices for design related knowledge preservation and management required for the safe and effective design, construction, licensing, commissioning, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of nuclear facilities.

Additionally, the team provides expertise on the use of software applications, databases and digital activities currently in place, together with leading the development of new applications identified by Member States to be of benefit in supporting their nuclear knowledge management requirements. It also provides guidance and support with the Cyber Learning Platform for Network Education and Training,  a learning management system platform available to all Member States and partner organizations. Established in 2016, the platform maintains the accessibility to the IAEA’s education and training resources and makes the delivery of training to Member States more efficient.

Learning and Development

The Section also facilitates capacity building through nuclear education and training, networking and experience exchange. The Learning and Development team supports Member States with their human resources development activities and education and training programmes.

To strengthen Member States’ capacity building efforts, the IAEA runs Schools in Nuclear Energy Management and Nuclear Knowledge Management in collaboration with international partners, industry leaders and governments.

The Section also assists Member States in strengthening nuclear education through education assessment and planning, curriculum benchmarking and facilitating university collaboration. The IAEA facilitated Education Capability Assessment and Planning Framework provides a process for developing countries to establish sustainable nuclear education including a framework for planning and assessing the potential of higher education’s contribution to the promotion and development of nuclear science and technology to meet their national development priorities. Additionally, the IAEA supports Member States, through a University Programme Peer Review Assessment service with the aim to deliver a focused review and assessment on the completeness of their nuclear engineering programmes and recommendations for improvement, as well as an International Nuclear Management Academy peer review service to help Member States to develop their nuclear technology management master’s degree programmes.

Furthermore, the Section facilitates nuclear education and networking and experience exchange through national, regional and international collaboration. Networks help centralize knowledge transfer on the development and implementation of nuclear knowledge management programmes in nuclear science and technology organizations, on both individual and institutional levels.

The Nuclear Knowledge Management section continually develops new resources and programs associated with people development needs to support nuclear knowledge management.