Students from USA could try starting a nuclear reactor - News service

Publication date:

2017/01/27

From 16 to 27 January, the first edition of Nuclear research reactor practicum course, organized for American students and teachers from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), was conducted at the Department of Nuclear Reactors of the Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering . Course participants attended lectures and practical exercises and also received a unique chance to try to start a nuclear reactor.

Guests from USA were students of law, economics, sociology and political sciences, studying the Nuclear security study course. After graduating, they primarily find themselves working as consultants and experts in the field of national and nuclear securityfor the US government. The course enabled the students to understand both advantages and drawbacks of nuclear energy. The course further confirmed the need to increasingly integrate social sciences with technical disciplines. Students did not just attend series of lectures on nuclear safety, but experienced various nuclear facilities, including the acadamic reactor VR-1 Vrabec (Sparrow), which they tried to ignite.

During the course, the students visited other facilities, such as the Temelin nuclear power plant (JET), the Nuclear Research Institute in Rez, the State Institute for Radiation Protection and the Skoda Plzen Nuclear Engineering company.