New Postgraduate Programs in Nuclear Engineering to meet the needs of the Canadian Nuclear Industry

1
New Postgraduate Programs in Nuclear Engineering
to meet the needs of the Canadian Nuclear
Industry
George Bereznai (UOIT) and Bill Garland
(UNENE) Paper presented by Benjamin Rouben
16PBNC, October 2008
2
16 units currently operating 2 units under
refurbishment 8-12 units to be refurbished
CANDU CANada Deuterium Uranium
3
Ontario depends on nuclear generation for 50 of
its electricity supply Applications have been
made to the regulator for 8 new units
4
First generation of engineers have retired, most
of the second generation will retire in the next
10 years Increased complexity of systems and
regulatory climate result in need for many new
hires with graduate degrees
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Existing Postgraduate Programsin Nuclear
Engineering in Canada

• There are a number of existing postgraduate
  programs in nuclear engineering at the Canadian
  universities listed in slide 9.
• The focus of the current presentation is a look
  at the new programs being offered.

6
UNENE

• An industry driven partnership with universities
  and government to address the human resource
  challenge in the nuclear sector
• Demographics
• Future prospects
• Other challenging fields

7
UNENE Objectives

• Enhance the supply of highly qualified graduates
  in nuclear engineering and science
• Reinvigorate university-based research and
  development in nuclear engineering and science
  focusing primarily on mid- to longer-term
  research
• Create a group of respected, university-based,
  nuclear experts for public and industry
  consultation.

8
UNENE Industry Partners

• Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
• Bruce Power
• Ontario Power Generation
• Cameco
• CANDU Owners Group
• Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
• Nuclear Safety Solutions

9
UNENE University Partners

• McMaster University
• Queens University
• Royal Military College of Canada
• University of Toronto
• University of Waterloo
• University of Western Ontario
• University of Ontario Institute of Technology
• Ecole Polytechnique
• University of Guelph
• University of New Brunswick

10
The UNENE Model

• Attract world-class faculty members to the
  partner universities to conduct nuclear research
  and teaching
• Provide funds to existing faculty members for
  nuclear research and graduate assistantships
• Make courses and expertise at one university
  available to students from other universities
• Offer a joint course-based M. Eng. degree in
  nuclear engineering for the professional
  development of employees, in particular recent
  hires
• Leverage the industrial contributions via
  matching government grants as investments in the
  universities

11
First Phase Funding

• Cash Funding (since 2002)
• Industry 7.8 M
• Universities 0.81 M
• NSERC 7.12 M
• Other in-kind Support
• Industry and Universities 4.97M
• Total impact 20.7M

12
Course-based M.Eng. Program in Nuclear Engineering

• Course delivery on weekends
• Professors from UNENE member universities
• Started in September 2003
• Cost 2,500 for each of 10 courses
• Typical class size 10 - 20
• Current active enrollment 45
• 30 graduates so far

13
UOITs M.A.Sc. and M.Eng. Programs in Nuclear
Engineering

• Two fields
• nuclear power
• radiological and health physics
• M.A.Sc. is research-based (5 courses thesis)
• M.Eng. is course-based, with three options
• 10 courses
• 8 courses industrial research project
• 7 courses graduate research project

14
Reactor Control
Health Physics
Radiation Biology
Reactor Chemistry
Reactor Physics
Simulation
Thermal Hydraulics
Waste Management
Environmental Effects
Next Generation CANDU
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Future Plans

• Graduate Nuclear Specialist Diplomas
• Fuel, Materials and Chemistry
• Reactor Systems
• Operation and Maintenance
• Safety, Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
• Health Physics
• Radiological Applications
• PhD
• Nuclear Power and Energy Applications
• Radiological and Health Physics

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Thank you!