Rosatom Technical Academy, in collaboration with the R.E. Alekseev Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University (NSTU), conducted the training course "NPPs with SMR: Main Aspects and Life-cycle" at the site of the Moscow branch. The event was timed to the meeting of the Commission of CIS member states on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, which is scheduled for June 2026. 12 course participants – university teachers and NI specialists – came from 6 CIS countries: Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
The trainees got acquainted with a composition of the reactor and turbine shops main equipment of an advanced Russian-designed nuclear power plant with the RITM-200N unit, and also learned about the key principles of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel management of the small-scale NPP. Substantial focus was placed on ensuring nuclear and radiation safety of low-power nuclear power plants. NSTU experts spoke about the methodology of using first-level probabilistic safety analysis (PSA-1) to determine the systems reliability and to estimate the frequency of core damage using the example of another Russian low-power installation KLT- 40S, and also shared data on the results of applied experimental research in the field of SMR conducted at the university. On the last day of the training, the course participants visited an enterprise of the Rosatom fuel division JSC MSZ in Elektrostal, where they observed the process of nuclear fuel fabrication from the fuel pellets production to the final formation of fuel assemblies.
The training course brought together lecturers and specialists from the CIS countries, as well as Russian experts and representatives of Rosatom's core university, which made it possible not only to demonstrate advanced Russian experience in the design and development of SMR technologies, but also to contribute to improving the quality of nuclear education in Rosatom's partner countries. In addition, this training format facilitated establishment of a professional network.
"As part of this course, we have gained a significant amount of knowledge, which we will later transfer to students and use to promote the topic of low-power nuclear power plants in Kyrgyzstan. What made the course particularly valuable was that it covered safety issues related to NPPs with SMR operation. In the future, our university and department in particular plan to expand the range of educational programs, initiate dual education projects, and create dual degree programs. We hope that cooperation will continue and a training center for highly qualified personnel for the future nuclear power industry of Kyrgyzstan will be opened on the basis of the Department "Heat power engineering" of KSTU. Work in these areas is already underway. In addition, our students are actively involved in promotion of nuclear energy in the country", said Uulbu Bolotbekova, lecturer at the Faculty of Energy of the I. Razzakov KSTU.
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The "Train-the-Trainers" courses are regularly conducted by the Rosatom Technical Academy within the framework of the Rosatom State Corporation project "International Cooperation in the field of nuclear education". They cover a wide range of topics: from electricity production at large and small nuclear power plants to irradiation of medical and agricultural products, production of modern radiopharmaceuticals at research reactors, development of advanced systems and devices for cancer diagnosis and treatment. The courses contribute to transfer of nuclear education – the transfer of competencies in teaching students nuclear and radiation technologies to partner countries.