2010-07-26 00:02:21
WAM Seoul, 25th July 2010 (WAM) -- A group of the Abu Dhabi-based Institute of Applied Technology (IAT) students are currently undergoing technical training on nuclear energy in South Korea.

The first four-week summer internship programme for the UAE nuclear industry is a fruit of partnership between the Institute of Applied Technology (IAT), the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and Sudo Electric Technical High School (SEHS).

According to the agreement, ENEC will sponsor the IAT Grade 11 students to undergo practical training at KEPCO in Korea and theoretical training at SEHS, as part of the cooperation to develop the UAE's nuclear industry educational infrastructure required for the operation of the nuclear power plants that ENEC has engaged KEPCO to construct in Abu Dhabi.

Dr. Abdul Latif Al Shamsi, Director of IAT, said the 48 interns will get practical training and experiences at SEHS that will qualify them to join nuclear plants the UAE will operate in 2017.

The first batch to be sent for training in this domain will receive training on electric and mechanical fields and will pay field trips to major Korean companies specialising in nuclear energy, heavy industries, construction and electronics. The trainees will also tour nuclear plants in Bosan, Korea's second largest city.

One of the programme's goals is to get Emiratis interested in nuclear energy at an early age.

"It's the beginning of putting these students on track for the nuclear profession," Dr al Shamsi has said earlier. To this end, the IAT will also launch a three-year diploma programme in 2011 to train young Emiratis to work as nuclear technicians at the power plants.

The IAT has developed an integrated nuclear power curricula and decided to teach it as of the next academic year. The final goal is to develop a sustainable, domestically sourced nuclear energy workforce that is dominated by competent national talent.

The training agreement represents the first practical step of the academic side of the Dh75 billion (over US$20 billion) contract signed by the UAE and Korea for designing and building four civil nuclear power plants for the UAE peaceful nuclear energy program.

The contract also calls for extensive training, human resource development, and education programs as the UAE builds the capacity to eventually staff the vast majority of the nuclear energy program with national talent, and develops the industrial infrastructure and commercial businesses to serve a thriving nuclear energy industry.

Central to the UAE's approach to developing a nuclear energy program has been the importance of building a qualified workforce in the short and long term.

According to ENEC's estimates, the program will need between 2,100 and 2,300 engineers, technicians and administrators by 2020.

WAM/TF