14 Mar 2011
The innovative employer-backed Nuclear Island skills project is being moved to the next stage following a successful funding bid by Cogent and Imperial College to the National HE STEM programme.
This will see the immediate development of a Nuclear Island module developed in partnership with Imperial College London in association with universities across England and Wales. A trial will take place in June, with a view to roll out next Spring.
The National HE STEM program is funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and Wales (HEFCW), and its decision will secure the development and delivery of the Nuclear Island.
The Nuclear Island itself will be a nationally available New Build experience for STEM students, and will engage a wider range of partners across the UK, including the National Skills Academy Nuclear, ECITB, Construction Skills and professional bodies.
It will establish partnerships between employers with Higher and Further Education Institutes to tackle the critical future higher level workforce needs of nuclear new build.
Jean-Jacques Gautrot, Chairman & CEO, AREVA UK has said, “AREVA UK Ltd supports Cogent and Imperial College London in their bid to build a Nuclear Island model. It is important that engineering skills are developed at all levels in order to feed the needs of the industry.”
The Nuclear Island will become an integral part of a number of UK STEM undergraduate courses. For the first time, nuclear safety culture would be an essential part of construction engineering courses, embedding critical safety behaviours from day one.
The project is being run through collaboration between Imperial College London, Cogent SSC, the Royal Academy of Engineering, Constructionarium, ECITB, and Construction Skills.
To get involved, please contact: Dr Caroline Sudworth [email protected]
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