Education and training (Nuclear Knowledge Management) Leon Cizelj Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering Senior Research Associate University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
~200 Nuclear facilities in EU @ ~80 sites ~30% of EU electricity production ~250.000 employees (~100.000 university graduates)
Generations of reactors: Generations of experts Generation I - Early prototype/ demo reactors - Shippingport - Dresden, Fermi I - Magnox Generation II - LWR-PWR, BWR - CANDU - HTGR/AGR - VVER/RBMK Generation III - ABWR, System 80+, AP600, EPR Generation IV - First demo of nuclear power on commercial scale - Close relationship with DOD - LWR dominates - Multiple vendors - Custom designs - Size, costs, licensing times driven up Atoms for Peace TMI-2 Chernobyl - Passive safety features - Standardized designs - Combined license - Highly economical - Proliferation resistant - Enhanced safety - Minimize waste 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Growing need for nuclear professionals Nuclear careers exist in the areas of medicine, manufacturing, agriculture, security, and energy. The number of nuclear departments at universities worldwide is declining since 1980s Many nuclear professionals are retiring and need to transfer their knowledge to the next generation of experts.
Age structure Workforce of EDF and RTE-EDF Transport EDF group 2008 Document de Référence http://tinyurl.com/nu4qa5 50 60
Growing need for nuclear professionals The demand exceeds the supply of graduates educated in nuclear science and technology. AREVA group hired more than 12.000 people worldwide (4.000 in France) in 2008. Plan for 2009: 12.0000! A scientifically literate population, educated in math and science, is essential for economy and security. Reduced number of students in science and technology reported
EC: Actions Already Taken Pooling of available resources in: Research Higher education Traninig Participation of major stakeholders Academia Industry Regulators Technical Support Organisations Mobilization of public and private funding
Education: Achievements ENEN ASSOCIATION Association of stakeholders (edu, research, industry ) 50+ members from EU, 2 Japan, Russia, South Africa European M. Sc. in Nuclear Engineering Courses shared by more than 45 EU based Universities 33 awarded to date by ENEN European M. Sc. in Radiological Protection Curicculum developed First courses started European M. Sc. in Deep Geological Disposal Curicculum developed First courses started
Nuclear Facilities in Europe & ENEN Partners
Training: ongoing efforts Enhance communication with end users Efforts towards Harmonized training approaches Accredited training courses European Training Passport Enhanced workforce mobility Olkiluoto 3 site: 4.500 workers, 60 nations! Stronger involvement of Universities in training and lifelong learning
Conclusions Climate change calls for low carbon energy sources Complex technologies including nuclear power are needed to meet those challenges We want to involve the most gifted young people Education (and training) infrastructure is available Can we together motivate more young people to consider education and career in the nuclear professions?
Selected references ENEN Association www.enen-assoc.org Google Earth applications Nuclear facilities: http://tinyurl.com/m5b4sc ENEN partners: http://tinyurl.com/mlkpm4 Career opportunities: EDF: http://www.edfrecrute.com/index.php AREVA: www.careers.areva.com E.On: http://www.eon.com/en/17043.jsp => RWE: http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/de/179472/rwe/karriere/ Facebook referral application: http://www.pageuppeople.com/ Additional information: Leon Cizelj, http://www2.ijs.si/~cizelj Leon.Cizelj@ijs.si, +386 1 5885 215
Appendices
Some Additional Thoughts The battle for talent is global the shortage of young engineers and scientist is not unique to the nuclear engineering field. Shortage of highly educated/trained people could influence the competitiveness of the nuclear energy in the near future. In the long run, activities needed to improve the scientific and technical education of students entering the universities
Education vs Training Education Knowledge Why? Driven by general public interest Training Skills How? Commercially driven
How to get more and better educated people? The performance gap between European and American universities is large. The reason is two-fold: Europe invests too little in higher education. European universities suffer from poor governance, insufficient autonomy and often perverse incentives. Bruegels Policy Briefs on Why Reform Europe s Universities? Perhaps the money should not be the incentive. But it is. Alan Greenspan on how to improve the science knowledge of the input to the US universities in the book The Age of Turbulence Is there an empirical proof? NERI: Nuclear Engineering Research Initiative by the US DOE, started in 1999 (President Clinton)
Important Initiatives: Europe Bologna Treaty 1999 Normalization of learning achievements to facilitate student mobility The promotion of a European Cooperation reflecting upon quality ENEN Association Network of 45 Universities and research institutes European MSC in Nuclear Engineering Funding through EC research frameworks: Higher education not responsibility of EC EURATOM not part of the EC People program SNE-TP Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform A shared (and balanced) vision of all stakeholders Among the highest priorities: Strategic Research Agenda Education and Training
Important Initiatives: Global World Nuclear University (WNU) Educational and Leadership building global partnership: World Nuclear Association (WNA) World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) IAEA OECD/NEA Univerisities, Research bodies, Educational Networks Relies on existing resources of partners IAEA Nuclear Knowledge Management (NKM) Developing methodologies and guidance documents for NKM Facilitating nuclear education, training and information exchange Assisting Member States in maintaining and preserving nuclear knowledge.