To meet the world’s present and future needs for clean and reliable energy, skilled professionals are needed to ensure the sustainable development of nuclear power. The IAEA’s International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) is helping build the knowledge base of the next generation through dedicated courses on nuclear energy system modelling and assessment using the INPRO methodology.
An INPRO course last month, organized jointly with the Regional Network for Education and Training in Nuclear Technology (STAR‑NET), focused on “training the trainers” with 30 participants from universities and nuclear organizations in five countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. They learned about INPRO methods for strategically planning for the long-term development of nuclear energy systems, including economics, infrastructure, waste management, environment, proliferation resistance and safety.
“It is crucial that knowledge of the IAEA’s methodology and tools to assess the sustainability of nuclear energy is effectively transferred to young professionals and future leaders in the field,” said Mikhail Chudakov, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of Department of Nuclear Energy. “INPRO is forward looking in this regard, equipping the next generation with the necessary education and training.”
The course, held from 26 to30 April, also addressed the role of low carbon nuclear power in climate change mitigation while providing an overview of advanced reactor technologies as well as the status of, and national approaches to, the nuclear fuel cycle.
“We learned about basic concepts not only about the modelling of nuclear energy systems and INPRO methodology, but also about the various possibilities of nuclear energy, the prospects for its development, and traditional and innovative types of nuclear reactors, which was very useful,” said Andrei Burov, participant from the Belarusian National Technical University (BNTU).
IAEA education and training programmes help prepare the next generation of professionals to manage complex nuclear power programmes. These efforts include transferring knowledge and experience accumulated by international experts and scientists in over two decades of INPRO activities, to young specialists, teachers and students who will develop and implement sustainable solutions for future nuclear power programmes.
“It is important that the IAEA methodology, developed within the framework of the INPRO project, finds its place in the engineering courses of future nuclear specialists,” said Mikhail Strikhanov, President of STAR-NET and Rector of National Research Nuclear University MEPhI in Moscow. “In that way, they will acquire competencies that will enable them to take an active part in the development and deployment of sustainable solutions for nuclear energy systems in IAEA Member States.”
