Nuclear Energy Management School Opens in Tokyo with Participants from 15 Countries

The Japan-IAEA Nuclear Energy Management School (NEMS) 2024 is now being conducted, having begun on August 20 and running until September 6. The program is designed for young professionals from Japan and overseas who are expected to serve as future leaders in nuclear fields.

A total of 32 trainees are participating in the program this time: 13 from Japan, and 19 from 14 other countries, namely, Brazil, Bulgaria, Estonia, Ghana, India, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Vietnam. They will receive instruction on a broad range of nuclear issues through lectures at the Hongo Campus of the University of Tokyo, as well as on technical tours held elsewhere.

Held several times yearly, NEMS was launched in 2010 in Italy, and this is the 12th time that Japan is serving as the venue. As of last year (2023), the school had been convened 52 times at different locations around the world, with a total of more than 2,000 participants from 104 countries.

The program has been regarded highly by its Japanese host organizations: the Japan Nuclear Human Resource Development Network (JN-HRD Net), the Graduate School of Engineering of the University of Tokyo, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF), and the JAIF International Cooperation Center (JICC).

In his opening lecture before the trainees on August 22, DEMACHI Kazuyuki-associate professor in the Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo and chair of the NEMS 2024 Executive Committee-emphasized the various benefits that they would get from participating in NEMS, including not only acquiring the latest information and knowledge but also getting to know each other through their attendance at lectures and group work.

NEMS 2020 in Japan had been pushed back to the summer of 2021, when it was held online instead of face-to-face due to COVID-19. Other recent NEMSs in Japan have been held in periods of oppressive heat. Demachi thus urged the attendees to enjoy the program this time while taking proper care of their health.

On the first day, representatives from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), including Helena Zhivitskaya of its Nuclear Knowledge Management Section, delivered greetings welcoming the trainees.

In addition, JAIF President MASUI Hideki, who also chairs JN-HRD Net, talked about the importance of human resource (HR) development, which he said was the "key element in promoting nuclear energy programs successfully." He called on the attendees to demonstrate individual commitment, initiative-taking participation, and an eagerness to learn.

This time, as in previous years, the attendees will go on a technical tour of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear, lying some 250km north of Tokyo. UESAKA Mitsuru, a former chair of the NEMS Executive Committee and chairman of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC), told them that their visit there would be a very valuable opportunity, stressing the significance of being able to see the site in person and discussing it.