On March 25, as part of the ATOMEXPO-2024 International Forum, the Obninsk.Tech – Innovations in Nuclear Education session was held, dedicated to the discussion of a project to create a unique international innovation cluster of global nuclear education.
The discussion brought together a wide range of speakers, including Mikhail Chudakov, the IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Nuclear Energy Department, Tatiana Terentyeva, Deputy Director General for HR of Rosatom, Vladimir Shevchenko, Rector of National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (MEPhI, one of the Rosatom’s flagship universities), Tatyana Leonova, Head of the Obninsk Administration, Professor Amon Murwira, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and other experts.
Tatiana Terentyeva outlined Rosatom’s personnel challenges: taking into account the replenishment of personnel by 2030, Rosatom needs to attract about 350,000 people. The magnitude of the tasks suggests that there is need of training highly skilled personnel today, and at a faster pace. With this in mind, an innovative ecosystem for developing human resources has been created. As part of this system, joint programs with schools, colleges, universities are being implemented and exclusive education and training centers are being created. One of them is Obninsk.Tech, which will become the largest scientific and educational center, a showcase for the products of high-tech companies, and a global platform for the nuclear agenda.
“Obninsk.Tech will be created in a place of great heritage, in a city with developed scientific and research infrastructure,” Tatiana Terentyeva emphasized. “Obninsk.Tech will be based on the strongest traditions of the country’s main nuclear university, MEPhI, with the participation of industrial partners. It will present a variety of educational products and create educational and scientific laboratories in the most promising areas. Obninsk.Tech is an example of a partnership project with large participation of the global youth. Implementation of this project will benefit everyone – the students, the city, the economy, and the global nuclear community as a whole.”
Vladimir Shevchenko‘s speech was devoted to the place and role of the Obninsk.Tech project in the nuclear education development program. He spoke about new educational practices, features and conditions for the development of young scientists, future specialists and employees of the global nuclear industry.
In her speech, Tatyana Leonova touched upon the changes that are taking place in the city in connection with the implementation of the Obninsk.Tech project – the rapid development of its enterprises, the emergence of innovative sites, the improvement of transport and urban infrastructure, as well as the growing interest of young people in nuclear energy education in Obninsk.
Elsie Pule, Chief Human Resources Executive of the Eskom Group of Companies (South Africa), also spoke during the session. She spoke about the human resource challenges facing the BRICS countries in the energy transition and the growing demand for highly qualified specialists in nuclear and related technologies. According to the speaker, the high quality of Russian nuclear education is also demonstrated by the Obninsk.Tech project, which is now of interest to Eskom Holding and South Africa as a whole.
Another speaker of the session was Ilya Mashkov, co-founder of the architectural office Mezonproekt, vice-president of the Union of Moscow Architects, who presented a picture of modern trends in the development of university campuses, their new interpretation and rebirth. In his opinion, Obninsk.Tech will become a space for innovation, creativity, intellectual development, and the formation of unique, groundbreaking ecosystem infrastructure solutions.
Tyr Karel from the Czech Republic, a foreign student of the Obninsk Institute for Nuclear Power Engineering of MEPhI, also spoke at the session. He shared his impressions of Russian nuclear and scientific-technical education and spoke about the opportunities that, in his opinion, open up for students, post-graduate students and young scientists from different countries and related industries when participating in projects such as Obninsk.Tech.
At the end of the session Tatiana Terentyeva announced important steps in the development of the Obninsk.Tech project – the expansion of the Youth Council and holding of its first meeting within the framework of the Obninsk NEW Forum, which will be held at the end of June 2024.
Obninsk.Tech, the international scientific and educational center for nuclear and related technologies, is meant to form a technological elite by combining the efforts of higher education, leading scientific organizations and business. The Obninsk Tech Center, which is being created with the participation of the Rosatom’s flagship university MEPhI, will become a hub for the development of modern educational technologies, an exposition of export-oriented products of Russian high-tech companies, a platform for congresses, exhibitions, and international schools. The idea and concept of creating the Center received support from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. Since the beginning of 2023, this idea has been repeatedly discussed in a series of strategic sessions with the participation of the government of the Kaluga Region, the administration of Obninsk, the “Kurchatov Institute” National Research Center, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (city of Dubna) and other organizations.
The center will be based on the infrastructure of the Rosatom Technical Academy and the Obninsk branch of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (MEPhI). At the same time, all 20 flagship universities of the nuclear industry, which annually provide more than 70% of Rosatom’s needs for graduates, will take part in its creation. It is expected that the development of the center will allow it to occupy at least 20% of the global market for nuclear and related education by 2030.
Obninsk is the first science city (Naukograd) in our country and a large scientific and technical cluster. Here is the world’s first nuclear power plant, launched in 1954, the A. I. Leypunsky Institute of Physics and Power Engineering, the Obninsk Institute for Nuclear Power Engineering (branch of MEPhI), which this year celebrates its 70th anniversary, and a number of other landmark research and development centers.
The city is also home to the main campus of the Rosatom Technical Academy, a modern multidisciplinary training center for personnel in the nuclear industry. Training is carried out in a number of areas (including training of operating personnel of foreign NPPs). Every year, more than 23 thousand people undergo retraining and advanced training under industry training programs at the Academy. As the owner of unique knowledge in the field of nuclear technology, the Technical Academy is recognized as an IAEA cooperation center in a number of educational areas.
The ATOMEXPO International Forum is the main event of the global nuclear industry, the largest exhibition and business platform where the current state of the nuclear industry is discussed and trends for its further development are formed. It has been held since 2009. The Forum is attended by executives of key companies in the global nuclear industry, government agencies, international and public organizations, and lead experts. The Forum format includes an exhibition and a congress with an extensive business program, the key event of which is a plenary session. Panel discussions and round tables discuss topics that are most important for the nuclear industry. Leading companies in the global atomic industry and related industries present at the exhibition their technologies and competences.
The efficient work of the fuel and energy complex is essential to the government, guaranteeing economic stability and well-being of the public. Major industry companies are developing production, implementing large-scale projects in the field of personnel training. Rosatom and its enterprises take active part in this work.
As part of demonstrating Rosatom’s commitment to the climate agenda, offsetting of the carbon footprint of the 13th ATOMEXPO-2024 International Forum will be ensured using special certificates.