The Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) hosted the 5th International Youth Forum “Russia – Africa: Nuclear Education as Potential for Successful Regional Development”. The event brought together nuclear industry experts, leading researchers, and talented students from Russia and African countries.
The forum attracted 400 speakers from 50 countries, including foreign students from 20 partner universities of Rosatom. Participants presented reports focusing on the prospects of applying nuclear technologies in power production, medicine, agriculture, environmental protection, geology, and mining. Experts unanimously agreed that the experience accumulated by Russian nuclear professionals could make a crucial contribution to the development of African nations.
“Cooperation between Rosatom and Africa has long been strategic and is aimed at the long-term future. Development of nuclear energy in African countries serves as the foundation for creating a sustainable economy and ensuring stability for future generations. A key condition for this is the training of qualified personnel. We offer a comprehensive approach that combines national specifics with global experience in the consistent development of the nuclear industry and engineering education,” commented Tatiana Terentyeva, Deputy Director General for Human Resources at Rosatom.
Last year, over 4,500 students from African countries were pursuing higher education in Russian universities. This year, the number is close to 5,000.
“Graduates with Russian diplomas are successful in their home countries and help foster international cooperation with Russia. Rosatom’s programs are an excellent example of such collaboration. Talented students gain competencies in high-tech fields and understand how to apply Russian expertise to regional development. And this extends beyond energy into the application of nuclear technologies in medicine, agriculture, environmental protection, and mining,” noted Konstantin Mogilevsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.
The educational process for African students studying in Russia includes not only theory classes but also internships. For instance, a recent hands-on session was held at the Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant and the Novovoronezh branch of AtomEnergoRemont (Russia). This was an important step in training future industry professionals from Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Morocco, Cambodia, Senegal, and Egypt, who are specializing in nuclear physics at the National Nuclear Research University (MEPhI) and other Rosatom universities.
The program included visits to the central control room and the unit control panel of Novovoronezh Unit 6 equipped with a Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactor. Plant workers demonstrated different operating modes of the reactor on a full-scale simulator, paying special attention to operational safety.
The practical component of the program involved training in various types of repairs, maintenance procedures, and metalworking skills. Students reinforced their knowledge by performing repair operations on equipment mock-ups. The technical tour was organized by the Resource Center for Practical Training of Foreign Students, operating since 2016 at the Novovoronezh Polytechnic Institute (Russia). Over this time, nearly 600 people have participated in such tours.
“Our facility helps students from specialized universities learn the intricacies of the nuclear profession through examples of operating VVER power units. Our center trains all nuclear industry professions, from operators to chief engineers and plant directors,” noted Vladimir Potanin, Deputy Chief Engineer for Personnel Training and Head of the Training Center at the Novovoronezh NPP.
Photo by: Rosatom Corporate Academy, Novovoronezh NPP
