Information specialists from 22 Member States gathered last week in Vienna to refresh and improve their skills in the operation and use of International Nuclear Information System (INIS).
The IAEA INIS training seminar takes place every two years. It is designed to strengthen Member States’ nuclear information capacities, training participants in the preparation and submission of nuclear information, and the use of INIS products and services.
“Provision of information is part of the IAEA mandate, and imperative in ensuring safe, secure and peaceful applications of nuclear energy. INIS has played a leading role in organizing and making nuclear information accessible for the past 47 years,” said Huang Wei, Director of the IAEA Division of Planning, Information and Knowledge Management.
Subject specialists, cataloguers and information specialists participating in the training seminar came from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Latin America. They are all directly involved in the operation and use of INIS in their countries. They actively engaged in practical sessions, case studies and discussions, enhancing their skills in both information classification and information retrieval. Out of 22 participants, 16 were women.
“This training seminar provides a great opportunity to enhance our understanding of the activities happening behind the scenes and to learn from the experiences of fellow colleagues, which will ultimately enhance the services provided to nuclear professionals,” said Anjali Hemant Prabhu, participant from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), India.
Training information specialists at the national level is an additional benefit for furthering knowledge preservation.
“I was motivated to attend this training seminar primarily to gain practical knowledge on input preparation, use of INIS products and services, and new concepts and current technologies,” added Richard Asare from Ghana. “It will enable me to assist the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) in training data harvesters and inputters for the INIS repository and encourage its use among research scientists and students of the School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences.”
“In 2017, more than 100,000 records were added to the repository with the cooperation of 154 IAEA Member States and international organizations,” said Dobrica Savić, Head of the IAEA Nuclear Information Section. “We appreciate this commitment of our Member States and stand ready to assist in future capacity building activities.”
INIS has played a leading role in organizing and making nuclear information accessible for the past 47 years.
