Author/Authors :
FransMoons، نويسنده , , JosephSafieh، نويسنده , , MichelGiot، نويسنده , , BorutMavko، نويسنده , , BalRajSehgal، نويسنده , , AnselmSch?fer، نويسنده , , GeorgesVanGoethem، نويسنده , , WilliamD’haeseleer، نويسنده ,
Abstract :
Theneedtopreserve,enhanceorstrengthennuclearknowledgeisworldwiderecognisedsinceacoupleofyears.Amongothers,“networkingtomaintainnuclearcompetencethrougheducationandtraining”,wasrecommendedin2001byanexpertpaneltotheEuropeanCommission[EUR,19150EN,Strategicissuesrelatedtoa6thEuratomFrameworkProgramme(2002–2006).ScientificandTechnicalCommitteeEuratom,pp.14].
ItappearsthatwithintheEuropeanUniversityeducationandtrainingframework,nuclearengineeringispresentlystillsufficientlycovered,althoughsomewhatfragmented.However,ithasbeenobservedthatseveralareasareatriskintheverynearfutureincludingsafetyrelevantfieldssuchasreactorphysicsandnuclearthermal–hydraulics.Furthermore,insomecountriesdeficiencieshavebeenidentifiedinareassuchastheback-endofthenuclearfuelcycle,wastemanagementanddecommissioning.
Toovercometheserisksanddeficiencies,itisofveryhighimportancethatEuropeancountriesworkmorecloselytogether.HarmonisationandimprovementofthenucleareducationandtraininghavetotakeplaceataninternationallevelinordertomaintaintheknowledgeproperlyandtotransferitthroughoutEuropeforthesafeandeconomicdesign,operationanddismantlingofpresentandfuturenuclearsystems.Totakeupthechallengesofofferingtopquality,new,attractiveandrelevantcurricula,highereducationinstitutionsshouldcooperatewithindustry,regulatorybodiesandresearchcentres,andmoreappropriatefundingfrompublicandprivatesources.Inaddition,EuropeannucleareducationandtrainingshouldbenefitfromlinkswithinternationalorganisationslikeIAEA,OECD-NEAandothers,andshouldincludeworldwidecooperationwithacademicinstitutionsandresearchcentres.
ThefirstandcentralissueistoestablishaEuropeanMasterofScienceinNuclearEngineering.TheconceptenvisagediscompatiblewiththeprojectedharmonisedEuropeanarchitectureforhighereducationdefiningbachelorsandmastersdegrees.ThebasicgoalistoguaranteeahighqualitynucleareducationinEuropebymeansofstimulatingstudentandinstructorexchange,throughmutualchecksofthequalityoftheprogramsoffered,byclosecollaborationwithrenownednuclear-researchgroupsatuniversitiesandlaboratories.Theconceptforanuclearmasterprogramconsistsofasolidbasketofrecommendedbasicnuclearscienceandengineeringcourses,butalsocontainsadvancedcoursesaswellaspracticaltraining.Someoftheadvancedcoursesalsoserveaspartofthecurriculafordoctoralprograms.
AsecondimportantissueidentifiedisContinuedProfessionalDevelopment.Thedesignofcorrespondingtrainingcourseshastorespondtotheneedsofindustryandregulatorybodies,andaspecificorganisationhastobesetuptomanagethequalityassessmentandaccreditationoftheContinuedProfessionalDevelopmentprograms.
Inordertoachievetheimportantobjectivesandpracticalgoalsdescribedabove,theENENAssociation,anon-profitassociationunderFrenchlaw,wasformed.ThisinternationalassociationcanbeconsideredasasteptowardsthecreationofavirtualEuropeanNuclearUniversitysymbolisingtheactivecollaborationbetweenvariousnationalinstitutionspursuingnucleareducation.
Basedontheconceptsandstrategyexplainedabove,andwiththefullcooperationoftheparticipatinginstitutions,itmaybestatedthattheintellectualerosioninthenuclearfieldcanbereversed,andthathighqualityEuropeaneducationinnuclearsciencesandtechnologycanbeguaranteed.
