Nuclear policymakers from 12 countries attend NSE’s Nuclear Leadership Program
In June NSE’s International Nuclear Leadership Education Program (INLEP) brought together nuclear policymakers, regulators, and executives from Bangladesh, Egypt, Ghana, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Turkey and the UAE. The goal of INLEP, the only course of its kind, is to enable leaders from emerging nuclear countries to explore the challenges involved in building safe, secure, and successful nuclear energy programs The June module, the first of INLEP’s two-module curriculum, covered the managerial, legal, economic and public policy aspects of nuclear leadership, as well as the fundamentals of nuclear engineering and technology including neutronics and thermal hydraulics.
Leading experts from MIT and around the world introduced the participants to the technologies, business models and strategies that could be used to deploy nuclear energy in their countries. The participants also discussed with their colleagues the need for development of nuclear energy as well as the appropriate scale, pace and strategy for development.
The curriculum included a simulation of an accident at a nuclear fuel manufacturing facility. Taking on the roles of front-line managers, regulators, a nuclear utility executive, and the press, the participants gained an appreciation for the deft problem-solving and clear, concise and timely communication needed to manage crises effectively
Outside the classroom, the participants visited the MIT research reactor and a reactor internals manufacturing facility in New Hampshire, and also toured research facilities on the MIT campus.
In October the 2014 INLEP class will return for the second module, which will be hosted at the headquarters of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations in Atlanta. This session will include visits to Plant Vogtle (where two nuclear reactors are in operation and two advanced AP1000 reactors are under construction), a low level waste disposal facility, a spent fuel transportation training facility and a fuel manufacturing plant.
Department of Nuclear Science & Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue, 24-107 (map)
Cambridge, MA 02139
nse-info@mit.edu