More than 40 young professionals from all over the world gathered again in Trieste, Italy, to learn how to manage the nuclear industry's core asset - knowledge. The School of Nuclear Knowledge Management is a specialized, week-long certificate training course, jointly organized by the IAEA and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) and is a popular course with added value of a strong focus on practical NKM implementation.
Increasing popularity and support
The school enjoys an ever-increasing interest from Member States - in 2015 over 200 applications were received. The selected participants came from 28 different countries and a good balance was achieved by region and by gender.
This year's School had the highest number of participants to date, mainly due to the support of a range of organizations that contributed to bringing together a diverse group of students from all types of nuclear organizations, including nuclear power plants, regulatory bodies, research and development, and technical support organizations.
Half of the participants were supported by ICTP and IAEA's Technical Cooperation Department through different regional and national projects. Kuwait Foundation for Advancing Sciences (KFAS) also generously sponsored another group of highly qualified professionals from Arab countries, and a sizeable group of participants from Russian Federation was sent by the Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation and National Research Nuclear University (MEPhI).
Appreciation goes to all of them, and other organizations that have expressed commitment to the professional development of their employees by supporting their participation in the School.
Commitment to quality
The training course is continuously improving the value it brings to the participants. Each school is preceded by a pre-training course and examination to ensure that the majority of applicants who expressed interest in the course develop a common understanding of the basics of nuclear knowledge management.
Lectures provided by internationally renowned experts, practical sessions, case studies and mentored group projects are the core of the face-to-face stage of the course, developing participants' skills to successfully implement KM projects in their organizations and countries upon their return.
It should be noted that the NKM school was approved by the Academic Council of The National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" (Russian Federation) as a part of their continuous education system, and from 2014 onwards the participants receive not only the IAEA / ICTP certificate of successful completion, but also an accredited MEPhI state certificate of professional development.
The 2016 School of Nuclear Knowledge Management: The next IAEA-ICTP School will take place from 29 August to 2 September 2016. Keep an eye out on the IAEA NKM Section's website for further information. Registration will start soon, with a deadline of 10th of March 2016.