NEA Nuclear Education,Skills and Technology(NEST) Framework
NEA

The NEST Framework
NEA member countries need scientists,
engineers and technologists to ensure
the safe, secure and sustainable use ofnuclear energy, to meet global energy
demands and environmental challenges.
The NEA is addressing the concerns ofmember countries about the potential lossof nuclear expertise and knowledge by
creating new approaches to retain, nurtureand expand this knowledge base, as wellas building the new capabilities needed forinnovative nuclear technologies.
The NEST Framework is the NEA’s
response to this need. It is a joint undertaking bringing together public and privateorganisations such as academia, researchcentres and industries.

Goal and objectives
The goal of the NEST Framework is toencourage postgraduate students, post-

doctoral researchers and young professionals to pursue careers in the nuclear
field by exposing them to challenging
projects and real-world problems. TheNEST Framework aims to transfer theknowledge accumulated by the current
generation of nuclear experts.
Its overall objectives are to:• Assist countries to maintain andstrengthen academic nuclear-related
education programmes and to build
both technical and non-technical skillsin the field of nuclear science, the safeuse of nuclear technology, and its application.
• Facilitate the skills development ofstudents and young professionals in
the nuclear sector through the transmission of practical knowledge andhands-on training.
• Establish sustainable international
exchanges and co-operation among theparticipating organisations.

Added-value and benefits
The NEST added-values and benefits are:• Fast-track processes to build up thenext generation of nuclear experts andprofessionals through hands-on exposure to real-world problems and byworking on challenging and innovativeprojects.
• Access to a critical mass of capacities (infrastructures, construction ordecommissioning projects, innovativeactivities…) in close co-operation withuniversities, available within the NEST
membership to NEST Fellows (MSc,PhD, Young Professionals) via international co-operation.
• Development of a network of promising young professionals, nuclear
experts and leaders in the field.

Education-Research Center “Nanocenter” (MEPHI, Russia).

Turbine Hall, Paks NPP, Hungary (Akos Bodajki).

Projects and selection criteria
The NEST Framework will include a wide
variety of projects and activities in such
key areas as safety-relevant phenomena
in containment during accidents, remotetechnology use in decommissioning, radioactive waste management, small modular
reactors and molten salt reactors.
To be included in the NEST Framework,
projects and activities need to meet thefollowing criteria:• address multidisciplinary challenges in
the field of nuclear science and technology and applications;• offer hands-on training opportunities foreach NEST fellow;

through international exchanges and activities to strengthen nuclear-related education programmes, build technical andnon-technical skills in the field of nuclear
science, and foster the safe use of nuclear
technology and its applications.

How to join
The NEA supports participation in theNEST Framework and is keen to engage
further with member countries who wish
to train a new generation of professionals,
and who value long-term and sustainableinternational co-operation in the area ofnuclear education, skills and technology.
Countries and organisations that wish tojoin the NEST Framework can do so by
contacting the NEA Secretariat.

• include at least three countries.

Further information
Current participation
As of February 2019, 15 organisations from10 countries (Belgium, Canada, France,Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, Switzerland and United States) are participatingin the NEST Framework. These countries
and organisations wish to co-operate

For further information, please contact
the NEA Secretariat:
Nuclear Energy Agency
46, quai Alphonse Le Gallo
92100 Boulogne-Billancourt
E-mail: nest@oecd-nea.org
www.oecd-nea.org/nest

Participating organisations

Agenzia nazionale per le nuove tecnologie,
l’energia e lo sviluppo economico sostenibile

Korea Atomic Energy
Research Institute

The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is an intergovernmental agency
under the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment (OECD) headquartered in Paris, France. Its main objective is topromote international co-operation assisting member countries in maintaining
and further developing the scientific, technological and legal bases required for a safe,
environmentally friendly and economical use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Cover photos: Education-Research Center “Nanocenter” training in the method of pulsed laser deposition (MEPHI,Russia); University workshop (Shutterstock, Matej Kastelic).

OECD/NEA, March 2019

NEA