Professor Jon Billowes, Director of Education Dalton Nuclear Institute Status of Nuclear Higher Education in the UK The University of Manchester Dalton Nuclear Institute

A look in the rear view mirror…… Decline in UK R&D Manpower in Industry

A look in the rear view mirror…… Decline in UK Public Fission R&D Funding

4 Skills Surveys and Reports HSE/NII Education & Research in British Universities (2002) DTI Nuclear Skills Group (Coverdale, 2002) Nuclear Task Force (Ruffles, 2003) COGENT Nuclear employers survey (2005) NDA Health Physics Resources in UK Industry (Rankine, 2007) BNFL Energy Unit – advice to Government, Research Councils on keeping nuclear option open Strategic need now recognised and new funds have been made available for nuclear education & research

5 Decomm. and clean-up Fusion programme and ITER International collaborations such as GenIV and GNEP Energy Review: new build of reactors Replacement of Royal Navy’s Astute propulsion reactors Waste Disposal and possible repository National Nuclear Laboratory Operation and life extension of existing plant Nuclear education & training

Dalton Nuclear Institute The University of Manchester NVQ II and Gen II Foundation Degrees Undergraduate Degrees MSc (PG Cert., Dip.) EngD PhD Schools, NVQs, Apprenticeships Education ladder in UK 4 year: MEng, MPhys 3 year: BEng, BSc MSc: 1 year (48 weeks, approx 75 ECTS credits) EngD – 4 years PhD – 3 or 4 years

Dalton Nuclear Institute The University of Manchester National Skills Academy for Nuclear NVQ II and Gen II Foundation Degrees Undergraduate Degrees MSc PhD Nuclear Engineering courses in pipeline National Nuclear Laboratory DCF, NURC, C-NET research Nuclear Engineering Doctorate Scheme (University consortium) Research programmes (KNOO, Nuclear sustainability) Schools, NVQs, Apprenticeships University consortium

Dalton Nuclear Institute The University of Manchester Funded by £1M award from Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (4 years) Modules (approx 7 ECTS) taught in “short-course” format specifically designed for part-time students from industry (MSc, Post-grad Diploma, Post-grad Cert.). Individual modules can be taken for Continuing Professional Development Accredited by IMechE and other Learned Societies Core modules converted to DL format for Sept 2008 MSc in Nuclear Science & Technology

9 HSE/NII Education & Research in British Universities (2002) DTI Nuclear Skills Group (Coverdale, 2002) Nuclear Task Force (Ruffles, 2003) NTEC portfolio of modules was guided by Skills Surveys and Reports at the time: Decommissioning Plant operation waste & disposal Nat. Nucl. Lab. Fast track fusion New build International research projects (GNEP, GENIV) Nuclear propulsion

Nuclear Task Force (2003): Absolute minimum requirements in key areas of expertise to keep nuclear option open

Portfolio Criticality Safety Management Decommissioning Technology & Robotics Decommissioning/Waste/Environmental Management Design of Safety Critical Systems Environmental Decision Making Experimental Reactor Physics Geotechnical Aspects Management of the Decommissioning Process Modelling the Impact of Radioactivity in the Environment Nuclear Fuel Cycle Particle & Colloid Engineering Policy, Regulation & Licensing Processing, Storage & Disposal of Nuclear Wastes Public & Political Aspects Radiation & Radiological Protection Reactor Materials & Lifetime Behaviour Reactor Physics, Criticality & Design Reactor Thermal Hydraulics Risk Management Safety Case Development Water Reactor Performance

Nuclear Engineering Doctorate Scheme EPSRC: £4M award for 50 Research Engineers (4 cohorts) Launched: September 2006 Research areas: Reactor Technology; Waste Management; Decommissioning; Materials; Socio-Economics; Safety systems

Programme Structure EngD Research Project Supporting Studies Management Diploma Technical Modules Professional Development Combined with UoM Manufacturing EngD Manchester Science & Enterprise Centre Industry Management Board: Industry & Academic

Dalton Nuclear Institute The University of Manchester Positive aspects: Research Council support for (i) MSc nuclear programmes, (ii) Nuclear Eng. Doctorate, (iii) university nuclear research Good support from industry (Provide: specialist lecturers, members of advisory boards and management boards, placements for MSc projects. Industry take-up of modules for CPD; send employees on part-time MSc) NTEC – consortium of 11 universities working smoothly. All QA work completed on time NTEC/Manchester – successful teaming with Atominstitut, Vienna for module on Experimental Reactor Physics University research consortia seem to be effective Dalton Nuclear Institute – offers MSc project placements for EU and overseas students in Manchester research groups (low take-up so far, but it works).

Dalton Nuclear Institute The University of Manchester Not going so well: Need better take-up of modules by industry – programmes are barely viable without research council support – and that is not guaranteed in future Although some NTEC modules have been offered under ENEN scheme, no take-up by EU students. No UK student has taken advantage of other ENEN modules (credits not automatically recognised by UK universities; funding overseas travel & subsistence is difficult) Quality Assurance work is a long, time-consuming process (but was certainly worth doing for Vienna module).