As of September 2015, the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom will offer a new master’s programme on nuclear technology management that conforms to the requirements endorsed by the IAEA. Officially listed as the Nuclear Technology Management Professional Development Programme, it is the first full-pledged management-focused master’s programme designed to meet the requirements of the IAEA’s International Nuclear Management Academy (INMA) framework.
INMA defines a set of common requirements that a university has to meet in order to maintain the high quality of its nuclear technology management master’s programme. It also fosters university collaboration and sharing, and provides supporting tools. Developed by the IAEA in collaboration with the nuclear engineering and business faculties of several universities, and with nuclear employers around the world, INMA offers a sustainable educational framework that will enable participating universities to implement high quality master's level management programmes for the nuclear sector.
The IAEA presented the INMA framework to universities at a technical meeting held from 28 to 31 July in Trieste, Italy. Representatives from more than 20 leading universities attended the meeting.
“There was general recognition that nuclear managers have to acquire management competencies to ensure the peaceful and safe use of nuclear technology,” said John de Grosbois, Head of the IAEA’s Nuclear Knowledge Management Section. “After all, INMA master’s degree graduates will be managers with responsibility for nuclear safety and working in nuclear power plants, regulatory bodies, vendor organizations, or R&D institutes.”
A university that wants to have its programme recognized as an INMA-endorsed programme has to incorporate into its curriculum the managerial competencies defined by INMA, and receive an INMA Peer Review Assessment.
Some of the universities that attended the technical meeting have committed to launch their own master’s programmes in Nuclear Technology Management under the INMA framework in the next few years, and are in the process of preparing agreements that would outline responsibilities — theirs and the IAEA’s – under INMA, de Grobois said.
The INMA initiative was started with the support of contributions by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The IAEA is counting on the financial support of other Member States as well, to ensure the sustainability of the university INMA programmes by funding student fellowships, de Grobois said.
