NEST Fellows celebrate achievements at the awards ceremony

NEST Awards, November 2024

NEST Management Board members and Fellows at the NEST Awards ceremony.

The NEA Nuclear Education, Skills and Technology (NEST) Framework was launched in 2019. Since then, more than 200 fellowships have been completed, 13 countries now participate in the Framework and 8 projects have delivered training opportunities over an array of different thematic areas. Following the 10th meeting of the NEST Management Board on 19 November 2024, its members and Fellows gathered to commemorate and celebrate these achievements together at the at NEA headquarters in Paris.

The NEST Awards aims to recognise and highlight NEST Fellows who have demonstrated excellence throughout their fellowship. Ten Fellows were selected to attend the event after submitting an abstract that summarised their fellowship, the technical and non-technical skills acquired and the achievements and impact of the fellowship on their studies and career paths. The chosen Fellows, representing seven academic institutions across five countries, presented to NEST Management Board members about their experiences participating in NEST SMR, BEAST, PANDA and ARTERD Projects. A NEST Jury awarded three outstanding presentations cash prizes to be spent on further professional development activities.

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NEST SMR Fellow, Colin Colterjohn, receiving first prize from Stephanie Cornet, NEST Acting Chair, and Tatiana Ivanova, Head of the NEA Division of Nuclear Science and Education.

During their time in Paris, the Fellows also attended a programme of technical site visits, where they had the opportunity to tour research facilities at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) in Saclay, meet engineers developing a new microreactor at NAAREA (Nuclear Abundant Affordable Resourceful Energy for All), and discover the Technical Crisis Centre at Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN). They also had the opportunity to hear advice and ask questions to nuclear experts during a career panel session.

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Career development panel session.

Looking to the future, the NEST Framework continues to expand, with interest from new member countries and new project areas under consideration. The NEST Awards will return in 2025 to coincide with the World Nuclear Exhibition in Paris, where more Fellows will have the opportunity to highlight their achievements.

If you are interested in participating in NEST, or for more information, please contact the NEST Secretariat at nest@oecd-nea.org.

See also