An agreement signed between the IAEA and a network of 13 universities from six countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia establishes the framework for cooperation between two sides in the area of nuclear education and training, research and outreach in nuclear technology.
The Practical Arrangements signed on 31 May 2016 between the Regional Education and Training Network in Nuclear Technology, also known as STAR-NET, and the IAEA will also facilitate more interaction in education and learning programmes to strengthen the synergy among international activities and national academic programmes and to promote knowledge-sharing within the nuclear sector.
"Nuclear power is set to play an important role in tackling the growing energy demand, sustainable development, and climate change mitigation," said Mikhail Chudakov, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Energy. "Nuclear education remains key to ensuring this and I am confident that STAR-NET will greatly contribute to it."
The signing ceremony was held on the sidelines of the VIII International Forum ATOMEXPO-2016 in Moscow, Russian Federation.
STAR-NET President Mikhail Strikhanov, rector of Russian National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, underlined that the new regional network would complement existing international initiatives, including those of the IAEA: "Through education and training, we want to contribute to addressing the issues related to nuclear technology and outreach," he said. "The STAR-NET universities should benefit from the experience gained in already established national and regional education and knowledge networks in Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America."
The IAEA-facilitated STAR-NET, established in 2015, brings together 13 leading universities from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The network's objective is to promote, manage and preserve nuclear knowledge and to ensure the continued availability of talented and qualified human resources in the nuclear field in its member countries.It also aims to enhance the competencies and availability of the human resources for safe and sustainable use of nuclear technology.
Following the model of the well-established European Nuclear Education Network ENEN, the IAEA nuclear knowledge management programme has previously supported the establishment and ongoing operation of three regional nuclear educational networks: The African Network for Education in Nuclear Science and Technology AFRA-NEST, the Asian Network for Education in Nuclear Technology ANENT, and the Latin-American Network for Education in Nuclear Technology LANENT.
