The International Atomic Energy Agency hosted the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science, Technology, and Applications and the Technical Cooperation Programme on November 26-28. The event brought together more than 1400 participants from 143 IAEA Member States, including 50 high-level delegations. Participants discussed the role of non-energy applications of nuclear technology in addressing global challenges in areas such as health, food security, water resource management, and climate change.
“About 150 countries participate in the IAEA's Technical Cooperation Programme, which is the primary mechanism for transferring nuclear knowledge and technology to Member States to address key development priorities. By sharing knowledge and building regional cooperation, the IAEA helps countries address issues in areas such as agriculture, food, water management, and public health,” said the IAEA Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, during the opening plenary session.
The Russian delegation included representatives of the Rosatom Technical Academy: Director for International Cooperation, Viktor Mazepov, Financial Director, Olga Trofimova, and International Training Specialist, Margarita Solovieva.
Within the framework of the conference, Rosatom Tech conducted a side-event, which covered the main results of the joint training activities for the IAEA Member States that had been organized together with the Agency. Jing Zhang, Section Head of the IAEA Technical Cooperation Department, was invited to participate in the program of the event. He shared his experience of working with the Technical Academy within the implementation of two interregional projects within the IAEA Technical Cooperation Programme on nuclear infrastructure development and small modular reactors.
In addition, the Head of the Nuclear Knowledge Management Section, Pedro Dieguez Porres, gave an overview of annual joint Russian Federation-IAEA Advanced Nuclear Energy Management and Nuclear Knowledge Management Schools. He shared overall statistics and feedback from participants, as well as insights on future updates in the schools' program.
Head of the Nuclear Infrastructure Development Section, Liliya Dulinets, and expert of the IAEA Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, Mikhail Lankin, spoke about their participation in organizing joint training events at the Technical Academy's sites and shared their results. Special attention was paid to the possibility of conducting technical tours to the leading enterprises of the Russian nuclear industry as part of training programs in different areas of activity, starting from nuclear power plants to nuclear icebreaker construction sites.
Member of the Atomic Energy Board of Sri Lanka, Malinda Ranaweera, was also invited to participate in the event. He appreciated the experience of his participation in international training activities conducted by the Technical Academy together with the IAEA and also presented the current state of development of the national nuclear power program.
Moreover, Viktor Mazepov was invited to take part in the plenary session devoted to the implementation of the IAEA Technical Cooperation Program in the 21st century. He presented Rosatom Technical Academy experience on advanced training for generation IV personnel and Small Modular Reactors units.
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Rosatom Technical Academy is a modern platform for advanced training and exchange of experience for nuclear industry specialists from both Russia and abroad. The Rosatom Tech provides professional retraining of managers and specialists of nuclear power engineering and industry, and personnel certification. Technical Academy is the IAEA Collaborating Centre in knowledge management and human resources development in five areas: nuclear power, nuclear security, nuclear science and non-energy applications, small modular reactors, medical physics and radiopharmaceuticals. Since 2019, Rosatom Tech has conducted more than 80 international events together with the Agency, attended by about 1.500 trainees from around the world.
As the IAEA Collaborating Centre in five areas the Rosatom Technical Academy helps the Agency achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal indicators through training activities for embarking countries.