Third International Conference on Nuclear Knowledge Management - Challenges and Approaches

Development of the South African Network for Nuclear Education, Science and Technology

9 Nov 2016, 16:00

15m

BoardRoom A (IAEA M-Building)

oral Track 2: Managing knowledge for new build projects and programmes in newcomer and expanding countries Technical Session 10

Speaker

Mr Anthonie Cilliers (North-West University)

Description

South Africa has long been regarded as an active country in the nuclear industry with two operating power reactors and a research reactor. In recent years’ research and development projects, such as the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor, has established additional expertise in the country situated at various institutions. After the PBMR project was stopped, the expertise became fragmented throughout the country and some experts even left the country. A number of training and research facilities have also completed their research cycle and are in the process of being decommissioned. With the renewed interest in nuclear technology and the states position to complete the procurement of 9600MW of nuclear power before the end of the year, nuclear knowledge gap has been identified and the need to capture all nuclear education and research in an educational network as well as to establish new nuclear training and research facilities such as small training reactors and research laboratories to support the national new build programme. This expertise and research facilities were combined into SAN-NEST (South African Network for Nuclear Education, Science and Technology) for South Africa and the African continent, with links to AFRA-NEST. The paper reports on the successes and challenges of the establishment and operation of SAN-NEST.