Industrial Doctorate Centre: Nuclear Engineering

工业博士中心：核工程

• 批准号: EP/G037426/1
• 负责人: Jonathan Billowes
• 金额: $ 458.05万
• 依托单位: University of Manchester
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Training Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2009 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FG037426%2F1
• 关键词: Industrial; Doctorate; Centre; Nuclear; Engineering

A consortium of UK universities, led by the University of Manchester in partnership with Imperial College London and supported by Bristol, Leeds, Sheffield and Strathclyde, is proposing to continue a nuclear engineering doctorate programme, established in 2006, as an Industrial Doctorate Centre (IDC) in Nuclear Engineering.The broad theme areas of the Nuclear Engineering IDC are as defined in the original EPSRC call (2006) and cover Reactor Technology, Waste Management, Decommissioning, Materials, Socio-economic aspects and Safety Systems. This proposal builds on the Nuclear Engineering Doctorate programme, developed by this consortium and currently in its second year. The primary aim of the programme is to develop outstanding, vocationally oriented, Research Engineers through intensive, broadly-based training in collaboration with companies so that they are equipped to take up senior roles within the nuclear industry in support of plant life extension, new build, waste management, decommissioning & clean-up, and naval nuclear propulsion. The proposed programme will fund 50 Research Engineers in 5 cohorts. The programme comprises four elements: a Doctoral-level research project or portfolio of projects; a Diploma in Enterprise Management; Taught technical modules; and a professional development programme.EPSRC's original call for a Nuclear Engineering Doctorate Centre was in response to mounting concerns about the loss of key skills across a broad technical base within the nuclear sector. A number of reports had been commissioned (Coverdale 2002 and Nuclear Skills Task Force 2003 are just two) that formalised and quantified the issue. The focus of the original programme was on the UK's immediate concerns for nuclear decommissioning, waste management, continued operation and plant extension of current reactors, and naval nuclear propulsion. Since the launch of the nuclear EngD programme in 2006, the Government has given formal backing for a new generation of nuclear power stations to be built in the UK (announcement by John Hutton, Jan 2008) with the expectation that the nuclear share of electricity generation would be significantly above the current level of 19%. The new-build policy does not greatly change the focus of the nuclear EngD programme but it does increase the urgency for developing skilled nuclear engineers to ensure future plants are regulated, built, commissioned and run safely, reliably and efficiently. There is currently a high demand for graduates by the nuclear industry. The relevant Masters programmes in the UK (for example the EPSRC-funded Nuclear Technology Education Consortium and Birmingham PTNR programmes) report rapid take-up of almost all available students by UK nuclear companies. Nuclear research activity in the UK is also fast expanding as evidenced by: Establishment of a National Nuclear Laboratory later this year; four new Chairs in nuclear areas have recently been created in UK universities; the Northwest Science Council has endorsed Manchester's plans for a Centre for Nuclear Energy Technology and Phase I funding is being sought from the Northwest RDA; a 20m NDA/Dalton Nuclear Institute (Manchester) initiative will provide research access for UK academics to the Sellafield Technology Centre.The Nuclear Engineering IDC will be fully integrated with these activities and will continue its formal links to the EPSRC-funded KNOO (Keeping the nuclear option open) programme. Active discussions are underway with Prof. Biggs in Leeds (PI, DIAMOND project in Decommissioning, Immobilization and Nuclear Waste Disposal) to link in their activities.

由曼彻斯特大学与伦敦帝国理工学院合作牵头，并得到布里斯托尔、利兹、谢菲尔德和斯特拉斯克莱德支持的英国大学联盟，提议继续开展 2006 年建立的核工程博士学位课程，作为核工程工业博士中心 (IDC)。核工程 IDC 的广泛主题领域如最初的 EPSRC 号召 (2006) 中所定义，涵盖反应堆技术、废物 管理、退役、材料、社会经济方面和安全系统。该提案以该联盟开发的核工程博士项目为基础，目前已进入第二年。该计划的主要目的是通过与公司合作进行密集、广泛的培训来培养杰出的、以职业为导向的研究工程师，使他们有能力在核工业中担任高级职务，以支持工厂寿命延长、新建、废物管理、退役和清理以及海军核推进。拟议的计划将资助 5 个组的 50 名研究工程师。该计划包括四个要素： 博士级研究项目或项目组合；企业管理文凭；讲授技术模块； EPSRC 最初呼吁建立核工程博士中心，是为了回应人们对核领域广泛技术基础关键技能流失的日益担忧。已经委托编写了许多报告（《Coverdale 2002》和《核技能工作组 2003》只是其中的两份），对这一问题进行了形式化和量化。最初计划的重点是英国对核退役、废物管理、现有反应堆的持续运行和工厂扩建以及海军核推进的直接关注。自 2006 年启动核能发电计划以来，政府正式支持在英国建造新一代核电站（约翰·赫顿于 2008 年 1 月宣布），预计核电在发电量中所占的比例将大大高于目前 19% 的水平。新建政策并没有极大地改变核工程项目的重点，但它确实增加了培养熟练核工程师的紧迫性，以确保未来核电站的监管、建造、调试和运行安全、可靠和高效。目前，核工业对毕业生的需求量很大。英国的相关硕士课程（例如 EPSRC 资助的核技术教育联盟和伯明翰 PTNR 课程）报告称，英国核公司几乎迅速招收了所有可用的学生。英国的核研究活动也在迅速扩大，具体表现如下： 今年晚些时候建立了国家核实验室；英国大学最近设立了四位核领域新教席；西北科学委员会已批准曼彻斯特建立核能技术中心的计划，并正在向西北 RDA 寻求第一阶段资金；一项 2000 万美元的 NDA/道尔顿核研究所（曼彻斯特）计划将为英国学者提供进入塞拉菲尔德技术中心的研究机会。核工程 IDC 将与这些活动完全整合，并将继续与 EPSRC 资助的 KNOO（保持核选择开放）计划建立正式联系。目前正在与利兹的 Biggs 教授（退役、固定和核废物处置领域的 DIAMOND 项目负责人）进行积极讨论，以将他们的活动联系起来。