The 11th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT RC) was held at the UN Headquarters, where Irina Sarkisyan and Yuri Kryuchkov – the representatives of the Project Office “Nuclear Education Transfer” – participated for the first time in a side event and presented a report on the achievements of the Rosatom Technical Academy in international cooperation.
At the seminar “Empowering the Next Generation: Education, Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of Peaceful Nuclear Development”, which was organized by the Evgeny Primakov Center for International Cooperation, Irina Sarkisyan discussed the activities of the Rosatom Technical Academy and modern approaches to addressing challenges in nuclear industry personnel training. She put a focus on projects of particular importance for strengthening the international cooperation. Among them is the project “Country Plans”, which helps engaging countries develop a detailed roadmap for national personnel training and build a nuclear infrastructure from the ground. In addition, there is the project “Russian Nuclear Education Ambassadors” – a community of enthusiastic students studying at Russian universities in nuclear and related fields and promoting engineering education and Rosatom's flagship universities at international venues. Currently, the project brings together over 50 students from 28 countries.
“Today, it is crucial to consider the education and training of personnel as an integral part of promoting the peaceful use of nuclear technology. Without the development of human capital assets, international academic cooperation, and the training of a new generation of specialists, the sustainable development of the nuclear industry on a global scale will be impossible,” Irina Sarkisyan also added.
Yuri Kryuchkov discussed the international educational initiatives of the Rosatom Technical Academy. Particularly, he spoke about the educational programs, which the Academy conducts as the IAEA Collaborating Centre, as well as about the courses “Train-the-Trainers”.
“The project “Train-the-Trainers” helps address the problem of long-term personnel retraining through offering a unique solution – short-term retraining of foreign trainers with an opportunity of subsequent implementation of advanced educational materials in universities of engaging countries. Thus, interested countries can develop their higher education systems in the field of nuclear technology and, in the future, cover their demand for specialists to support their nuclear infrastructures. Equally important, this approach helps increase the public acceptance of nuclear technologies,” he emphasized.
Since 2018, more than 1,200 specialists from 79 countries have completed these courses, and the training materials have been incorporated into the programs of more than 20 foreign universities.
Seminar attendees from around the world asked the speakers questions about current global challenges in education: lack of personnel, lowering of the artificial intelligence entry threshold and also the related risks, and the lack of interaction between young specialists in the field of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and active diplomats and experts.
The Russian party attended the seminar by diplomats from the Russian Missions to the UN and to international organizations in Vienna, as well as by a representative of the International Cooperation Department of the Rosatom State Corporation. Besides, the participants were welcomed by Mikhail Kondratenkov, Deputy Director of the Department for Non-proliferation and Arms Control at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.