Postgraduate Educational Course (PGEC) in Radiation Protection and the Safety of Radiation Sources for French-speaking countries

The purpose of the training course is to meet the educational and training requirements of graduate level staff earmarked for positions in radiation protection and the safety of radiation sources. The course is based on the IAEA Standard Syllabus, published in the Training Course Series 18 (Rev 1). The language of instruction is French.

The course will consist of lectures, practical exercises, laboratory exercises, demonstrations, technical visits in the field, with examinations. Topics of the course include: Review of fundamentals; Quantities and measurements; Biological effects of ionizing radiation; International System of Radiation Protection and the Regulatory Framework; Assessment of external and internal exposures; Planned Exposure Situations (General Requirements; Occupational, Public and Medical Exposure); Emergency Exposure Situations; Existing Exposure Situations; Training the trainers; Project Assignment. Participants are expected to carry out a work project to demonstrate their knowledge and skills acquired within the course. The project should be aimed at solving a specific radiation protection problem in their home country and participants are expected to present their project at the end of the course. After discussing with their direct supervisors, selected candidates should therefore bring suitable ideas/topics for the project.

Participants shall attend all lectures, practical exercises and technical visits, and are pre-training might be carried out prior to the start of the course, and written examinations will be held at the start and throughout the course. Participants who do not perform well in the examinations may be requested to return home and may be required to reimburse any fees to IAEA. After the attendance at the course, the participants shall provide feedback on the impact of the course through an on-line survey.

The participants will be young professionals, preferably below 35 years of age. They will have had a formal education to a level equivalent to a university degree in physics, chemistry, life sciences or engineering and should have been selected to work in the field of radiation protection and the safety of radiation sources in their countries. A copy of the academic record shall be attached.

The educational course is open to participants from (18) French-speaking AFRA Member States: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal and Tunisia.

The Agency organizes interregional and regional training courses and supports national training courses in the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. Invitation letters announcing these courses are issued by the Agency to relevant Member States. Priority is given to requests associated with projects of direct benefit to Member States.