INSTN and the Indian Institute, HBNI (Homi Bhabha National Institute), signed a collaboration agreement in September.

As part of the partnership agreement between the CEA and the Indian Department of Atomic Energy, INSTN and the Indian Institute, HBNI (Homi Bhabha National Institute), signed a collaboration agreement in September. As such, the two higher education institutions will be jointly developing teaching and student exchanges, as well as joint preparation of scientific publications. This collaboration covers the following topics: nuclear safety, materials, medical physics, radiobiology, radiation protection, medical imaging and nuclear medicine.

 

Developped in collaboration with the CEA, EVOC (Enhanced Virtual Open Core) is a multimodal teaching platform serving the skills of the nuclear industry.

The EVOC multimodal platform enables the INSTN to offer full-scale immersive training. Thanks to realistic multi-physics simulation, starting in the last quarter of 2018, trainees and students will be able to carry out unprecedented practical work. EVOC is based on a training reactor and on an initial experimental pool-type reactor, where the pedagogy of teaching physical phenomena is preserved. Thus, learners can practice in groups or individually on training courses combining real and virtual resources as close as possible to the physical phenomena of reactor operation.
A world first in terms of augmented virtual reality (AVR), this innovative and unique teaching tool is intended for students and operators in the nuclear industry. Thus, it makes it possible to carry out dematerialised training and to free oneself from the constraints of a reactor in operation, in particular its availability and physical accessibility.

The EVOC project was supported by INSTN Foundation. EVOC has been presented during the World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE) on june the 26^th, 27^th and 28^th.

To know more about EVOC.

 

 

On May 23rd, 2018, INSTN and EDF Group’s R&D Division, with its ITECH Training Institute, signed an educational partnership agreement for training projects in neutron physics.

The nuclear sector through the National Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology (Institut National des Sciences et Techniques Nucléaires - INSTN) and EDF Group R&D with its training institute, ITECH (Institut de Transfert des Technologies), each offer separate training courses in the nuclear field.

INSTN and EDF Lab Paris-Saclay have set up this partnership agreement to allow their internal and external customers to benefit from training courses with high added value, based on the high-level scientific competences of their researchers and experts. It will define the procedures for developing and delivering a joint training offer in the field of neutron physics.

This agreement is also part of the development of partnerships and collaboration promoted by the Saclay plateau.

The training catalogues of both Institutes will promote this joint offer. The educational content will comprise three complementary modules.

• A first four-day module entitled "Neutronics of nuclear reactors: Phenomenology".

• A second three-day module on Reactor Core Physics and Neutron Computing

• A third two-day module devoted to PWR Reactor Physics Theory

Jean Paul Chabard, EDF’s Scientific Director of R&D division and Philippe Corréa, Director of INSTN, signed the educational partnership agreement on May 23rd 2018.

•  

 

 

Published on May 24th, 2018

 

From the 19th to 21st of March 2018, the University of Bourgogne (Dijon) hosted 16 high schools from France, Germany, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus and Japan, in partnership with INSTNi, CEPNii, ASNiii, IRSNiv, Franche Comté Science Pavilion (CCSTIv) and SFRPvi,. Over a period of three days, 143 high school students and their teachers gathered to present their work on the theme of radioactivity.

 

 

 

From the 19th to 21th March 2018 at the University of Bourgogne in Dijon, 143 high school students and their teachers from around the world presented their work related to radioactivity, its challenges and the means to protect themselves against it (“radiation protection”[1]). This event took place within the framework of the International high school Meetings on Radiation Protection, an operation for the development of scientific culture [2], which brings together classes from the second to the final year.

In 2018, 16 high schools from France, Germany, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus and Japan (Fukushima High School) participated. Over a period of 3 days, 115 young people worked on topics as varied as natural and artificial radioactivity, the use of radiation in the medical field, the effects of ionising radiation on living organisms and the means of protecting themselves from it, the consequences of a nuclear accident, etc. These three days of meetings were highlighted by presentations by high school students, conferences and expert round tables, and stands exhibiting the work of students. Here are some examples of presentations:

• What precautions should a pregnant woman take when exposed to ionising radiation in hospital?

• What radiation, doses received and health risks are by airport and flight personnel and passengers?

• Radon in the home • Open Radiation: citizens measure radioactivity

• Radiation protection of workers in a nuclear installation.

During the three days organised in Dijon, high school and senior high school students developed their scientific culture regarding radiation protection. They shared with other students and radiation protection professionals present at the event. INSTN, a partner of the "International Meeting on Radiation Protection" since 2010, hosted the 10th edition of the radiation protection workshops[3] in 2017 in Saclay. The Valduc CEA spoke about tritium. Training courses in radiation protection were presented to high school students with a particular emphasis this year on the contribution of digital technology in support of educational innovations.

Discover the CEA press release related to this event: http://www.cea.fr/presse/Pages/actualites-communiques/institutionnel/rencontre-internationale-lycees-radioprotection.aspx

 

 

i INSTN : National Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology *

ii CEPN : Nuclear Protection Assessment Study Centre

iii ASN : Nuclear Safety Authority  

iv IRSN : Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety

v CCSTI : Centre for Scientific, Technical and Industrial Knowledge

vi SFRP : French Radiation Protection Society

 

1] Radiation protection is defined as the set of rules, procedures and means of prevention and monitoring aimed at preventing or reducing the harmful effects of ionising radiation produced directly or indirectly on people, including during environmental damage.

2] Radiation protection workshops are organised by the Centre d'étude sur l'évaluation de la protection dans le domaine nucléaire (CEPNii), the Autorité de sûreté nucléaire (ASNiii), the Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire (IRSNiv), the Franche Comté Science Pavilion, the Institut National des Sciences et Techniques Nucléaires du CEA (INSTNi), and the Société française de radioprotection (SFRPvi).

3] Radiation protection workshops: http://www.lesateliersdelaradioprotection.com/

 

 Published on April 16th, 2018

 

NUMERICS is a new CEA PhD fellowship program that was submitted by the Office for Doctoral Training Programs (SFRES) at the 2017 MSCA-COFUND call for proposals from the European Union's Horizon 2020 program and it has just been selected for funding. The selected PhD students will conduct research projects in the fields of numerical simulation, modelling and management of Big Data in selected CEA laboratories. The European grant amounts to € 3.9 million over the 5 years of the program.

NUMERICS, a new CEA PhD fellowship program that was submitted by the Office for Doctoral Training Programs (SFRES) at the 2017 MSCA-COFUND call for proposals from the European Union's Horizon 2020 program, has just been selected for funding. The selected PhD students will conduct research projects in the fields of numerical simulation, modeling and management of Big Data in selected CEA laboratories. The European grant amounts to € 3.9 million over the 5 years of the program.

The NUMERICS project will grant 3-year fellowships to 10 new PhD students in 2018-2021, 15 in 2019-2022 and 25 in 2020-2023. The selection of the NUMERICS PhD students will be consistent with the PhD funding campaign organized yearly by INSTN and led by the High Commissioner for Atomic Energy. European funding (50%) will be completed by INSTN from its PhD program budget so that the laureates can be offered a PhD thesis contract fully paid by CEA. The scientific projects in the CEA laboratories will be completed by a specific professional training program at INSTN built by the INSTN program "Training through Research" managed by the SFRES.

For 2018, NUMERICS labeled thesis subjects open for applications will be selected from CEA's 2018 thesis list published on the INSTN website. After a first evaluation of the applications, short-listed candidates will be invited for an oral presentation in June-July 2018 before final selection.
Usual MSCA eligibility requirements shall apply to potential candidates, namely they shall not have resided in France more than 12 months during the three years prior to the submission of their applications.

The attribution of the H2020 funding to the CEA NUMERICS project demonstrates the recognition, by the European Union, of the quality of training through research carried out by CEA laboratories and INSTN, which is followed by a successful professional integration. With NUMERICS, INSTN can proceed with its successful activities towards the training of young researchers at CEA, that were initiated with the Eurotalents (2009-2013) and Enhanced Eurotalents (2014-2018) programs.

Published the 2 on march 2018

The catalogue "CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AT INSTN - A selection of our training and certification courses", for the year 2018, is online.

The new catalogue "CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AT INSTN - A selection of our training and certification courses" for 2018, is now available in French and English. This catalogue contains a selection of the training courses available on the five INSTN sites and that are associated with the Institute's 13 themes of continuing training activities:

 • Pressurised water reactors and fuel cycle • Research reactors and fast neutron reactors

• Materials and characterisation

• Operation and maintenance of nuclear facilities

• Cleanup, decommissioning and waste management

• Nuclear safety and security

• Alternative energies

• Radiation protection of personnel

• Radiation protection professionals

• Nuclear applications in Human Health

• Micro and nanotechnologies

• Radioactivity and the environment

• Professional development for careers in Sciences

 

Discover the French version of the catalogue here.

 

Discover the English version of the catalogue here.

 

Published on February 19th, 2018

Within the framework of the future creation of the SAINTS Institute for continuing professional and academic training in the nuclear energy and nuclear health sectors, a cooperation agreement was signed between the iThemba LABS in South Africa and INSTN.

To meet the growing need to develop skills, particularly in nuclear sciences, radiation protection, radiobiology, radiopharmaceuticals and nuclear medicine, the iThemba LABS laboratory, in South Africa, wanted to increase its training activities by launching the creation of a new training institute in South Africa: South African Institute of Nuclear Technology and Sciences (SAINTS). In this context, iThemba LABS wanted to establish new international collaborations to enable the SAINTS Institute to set up tailor-made training programmes to enable learners to acquire the skills required in the various nuclear fields (industry, research and medical). Recognised as an application school for the French nuclear industry in France and internationally, INSTN, in conjunction with the CEA's International Relations Department, has agreed to respond positively to iThemba LABS' proposal for collaboration.

On December 5th, 2017, a cooperation agreement was signed between INSTN and iThemba LABS to establish the SAINTS Institute. An official ceremony was held in Cape Town attended by a delegation from the French Embassy, representatives of higher education institutions and the executive heads of the National Research Foundation (NRF). This partnership will enable INSTN to become a key player in the project and bring its recognised international expertise, including its recent designation as an IAEA Collaborating Centre in the field of education and training in nuclear technologies, industrial applications and radiopharmaceutical.

More information about the iThemba LABS laboratory: http://tlabs.ac.za/

 

Published on February 5th, 2018

 

As part of the partnership between INSTN and the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), INSTN organised a five-day security inspector training session in Abu Dhabi in October 2017 and a study tour in France in November 2017, which was completed by a jury in Abu Dhabi.

In October 2017, INSTN organised a training session in Abu Dhabi for Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) staff. The session, called ‘Fundamentals in Nuclear Energy and Radiation Protection,’ is the result of a partnership signed in 2016 between INSTN and FANR for the training of National Safety Inspectors.

In addition, INSTN set up a ‘Study Tour’ in France, from the 6th to the 14th of November 2017, involving ASN, IRSN, CEA, ANDRA, EDF and FRAMATOME. The Study Tour was organised for a group of ten FANR engineers. FANR gave very positive feedback on the level of expertise and quality of training provided by the French experts involved.

 

 

Published on January 30th, 2018

 

The INSTN Foundation, created in December 2016, supported by Fondation de France and its founder members, APAVE, ASSYSTEM and NUVIA, has just launched its website. A great way for the Foundation to present its ambitions and projects for 2018, made possible thanks to the support of members and donors.

The Foundation aims to develop and enhance training to support the nuclear sector and the development of low-carbon energies. With the ambition of helping to train future players in the energy transition, the Foundation will implement actions, and can contribute to:

• The creation of teaching chairs;

• Improving the living conditions of students;

• Design of educational tools and facilities;

• The dissemination of knowledge.

 

On the website, you can find the complete presentation of the Foundation, current projects, news, and an online donation form.  

 

For more information on the INSTN Foundation website: www.fondation-instn.org

 

 

Published on January 16th, 2018

 

In November 2017, INSTN's specialised engineering degree in Nuclear Engineering (Génie Atomique-GA) received the label of the International Institute of Nuclear Energy (I2EN) (Institut international de l’énergie nucléaire) for a period of 5 years.

 

 

During 2017, INSTN prepared a self-assessment file with a view to obtaining the I2EN label for its specialised engineering degree in Nuclear Engineering (GA). Following an audit, a favourable opinion was issued by the Committee of Experts of the International Nuclear Energy Institute (I2EN). At the end of this evaluation process, the High Commissioner for Atomic Energy, Mr Yves Bréchet, awarded the I2EN label to INSTN's specialised engineering degree in Nuclear Engineering (GA) during an official ceremony in November 2017.

 

The award of such a label illustrates the quality of the INSTN degree in Nuclear Engineering (GA) and its impact in France and internationally as part of the training of future players in the nuclear industry.

 

 

For more information on the I2EN label: http://www.i2en.fr/fr/linstitut-i2en/les-missions/labellisation

 

 

 

Published on January 10th, 2018