The first IAEA’s new International School of Nuclear and Radiological Leadership for Safety targeting early to mid-career professionals in the Ibero-American region is underway in Mexico City with participants from 11 countries.
The 5-16 November 2018 course, held in Spanish, aims to strengthen the 32 participants’ ability to lead for safety throughout their careers. Leadership for safety in nuclear and radiological environments is key to preventing accidents and mitigating their consequences, should they occur. Effective safety leadership ensures that safety and protection issues always receive the attention they warrant.
The participants, from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Spain, Honduras and Venezuela, are taking part in an intensive programme of lectures, exercises and technical visits during the course, hosted by Mexico’s National Nuclear and Safeguards Commission and supported by the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme.
The course contributes to the regional technical cooperation project objective of strengthening regulatory infrastructure and building sustainable safety expertise in Member States.
“At this course I am learning the importance of the role of a leader as a guide, especially increasing my skills to train and develop new leaders at my organisation” said Estefanía Micaela Chávez, Biophisicist at the Hospital Carlos Andrade Marín, Ecuador.
Roundtable discussions held during the course focused on leadership and gender equality. Discussion leader Rosaria Velasco, vice chair of the Nuclear Safety Council in Spain, welcomed the active participation in the session.
“Female participants seemed reaffirmed and encouraged to take on more leadership positions in their careers,” she said.
The course content is based on the IAEA safety standards, in particular the General Safety Requirements Leadership and Management for Safety (No. GSR Part 2). Participants will analyse case studies involving scenarios with both safety and security aspects, such as unintended medical exposure, a nuclear power plant outage, loss of control of a radioactive source during transport, and leaks of radioactive material.
“This course aims to strengthen safety leadership across the region for decades to come,” said Gustavo Caruso, Director of the IAEA’s Office of Nuclear Safety and Security Coordination and a lecturer at the course. “By applying what they learn here throughout their careers, the participants will contribute to improved nuclear and radiation safety in their countries.”
Another International School of Nuclear and Radiological Leadership for Safety will be held in November 2018 near Delhi, India. A pilot version of the school was held in November 2017 Nice, France.
