MSUC: international cooperation.
We have already told our readers (No. 6-2010) about the Federal State Institution «Intersectoral Special Training Center» (FSI MSUC). Of course, this first material gave only a general idea of the multifaceted activities of the MSUC. Therefore, we agreed with the management of the Center that we would definitely return to this topic. A good news item appeared in May of this year: a group of specialists in the physical protection of nuclear facilities and materials from the Republic of South Africa came to study at the MSUC.
Roman Ovchinnikov, Deputy Director of the FSI MSUC for Academic and Scientific Work
The Inter-Industry Specialized Training Center, created in 1993, is today a modern training center capable of solving the problems of training and improving the qualifications of various categories of specialists in the field of physical protection of nuclear materials and facilities at a high quality level. The training process organically combines lectures and practical exercises by students, solving situational problems, which allows them to consolidate the theoretical knowledge they have acquired and acquire the necessary experience and work skills.
The Center's activities have made it famous not only in Russia but also abroad. Within the framework of international cooperation between the Rosatom State Corporation and the US Department of Energy in the field of accounting, control and physical protection of nuclear materials, the ISTC has been actively cooperating with US national laboratories since 1997. The main areas of cooperation are: development and implementation of training courses on the physical protection of nuclear materials and facilities, improvement of the educational and material base and infrastructure of the ISTC, development of educational and methodological materials and manuals, regulatory documents in the field of training of Rosatom State Corporation personnel in physical protection.
Another of the most important areas of the international activity of the ISTC is cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which began 10 years ago. Since 2001, the Center has been training not only Russian, but also foreign specialists in the field of physical protection of nuclear materials and facilities. Within the framework of this cooperation, training courses for representatives of IAEA member states are being developed and conducted, and the educational and material base of the Center is being improved. It all began with one course. In 2011, it is planned to train representatives of IAEA member states within the framework of five training courses, including those with international status.
For example, a national training course on practical operation of physical protection systems for nuclear facilities for representatives of South Africa is held under the auspices of the IAEA. Together with the teachers of the MSUC, specialists from the UK and the German company GEUTEBRUCK participate in the training. This is no coincidence. The fact is that GEUTEBRUCK equipment is installed at nuclear facilities in South Africa, and knowledge of the features and operating principles of specific systems will certainly be very useful to colleagues in their daily work.
Jerzy KNAPIK, long-time employee and since 2009 consultant of the IAEA Nuclear Security Office
This year, together with the ISTC, we will be holding two more international courses. One is on the practical maintenance of physical protection systems, the other on their inspection. They differ from the national course for South Africa in that they are international.
Currently, the IAEA conducts over sixty training courses on nuclear security in different countries every year. We have national courses — for specialists from a single country, regional courses — for a group of countries from a specific geographic region, and international courses — for which specialists from IAEA member countries who meet a specific professional profile determined by the course topic are invited to participate. At the same time, the procedure for sending to such courses is quite strict — potential participants in a regional or international course are proposed to us by the government of each of the countries invited to participate in this course. The final selection of participants is carried out by the IAEA, which then finances their participation and training. Here you cannot, as «space tourists» have been doing lately, simply buy a ticket for a space flight around the globe.As I have already said, our courses are held in various countries of the world, including, of course, in various cities of Russia. How then do the IAEA scientific courses on physical nuclear security held in Obninsk differ from other courses?
My friend and colleague Roman Ovchinnikov has already noted that exactly ten years ago, the first IAEA regional practical course on servicing physical protection equipment was held in Obninsk. Now the 22nd course is underway with the participation of foreign specialists. We started with one regional course per year, and it was conducted only in Russian; this was the case from 2001 to 2004. In 2005, we launched a second course, a course on inspection. And then all IAEA courses began to be held in Russian and English with simultaneous translation during lectures and practical classes. In 2009, another practical course appeared, intended for students of technical universities, which began to graduate specialists specifically in physical nuclear security. I called it student pre-graduation practice. The new course was highly appreciated by both the IAEA management and the scientific supervisors of the students who came here from Moscow, Tomsk and Sevastopol. As a result, in the autumn of this year, the next, already third pre-graduation practice for students should take place at the MSTC, and, if there are those who wish, also on a fully international scale. At the end of 2010, together with the Federal State Budgetary Institution «Medical Radiological Research Center» of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation (FGBU MRRC of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia), a pilot IAEA training course on the physical protection of radiation sources was held at the MSTC. Apparently, this completely new branch of international cooperation will also develop.
National groups of physical protection specialists from Iran and Pakistan have already studied at the ISTC, and a group from South Africa is currently studying. Representatives of most European and CIS countries, including Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Armenia, Lithuania, Poland and Kazakhstan, have studied and taught here, along with their Russian colleagues. By the end of last year, more than 420 specialists from 26 countries had undergone practical training at the ISTC through the IAEA.
All this became truly attractive and possible only when the training grounds and laboratories of the ISTC were equipped with new equipment. This is what caused increased interest in many foreign countries. To achieve this, regardless of the financing of the international courses themselves, serious capital investments were needed, of course. Funds for this joint project, carried out by the IAEA and the State Corporation Rosatom in Obninsk, were allocated during 2004-2010 by the Government of Canada, through a targeted contribution of this country to the voluntary Nuclear Security Fund established by the IAEA countries. But in addition to funds for the construction of new sites and laboratories and equipping them with the most modern equipment, a lot of work by professionals working in the ISTC was also needed. A lot of work was also needed to implement the ideas of this, today, unique training center for physical protection, so attractive to specialists from different countries. Finally, it was necessary to carry out a lot of pedagogical and methodological work by specialists of the MSUC on the development of relevant educational programs, as well as new scientific manuals and materials in two languages.
I was lucky to be part of the first IAEA delegation that came to Obninsk ten years ago. And then to organize the first training course with the participation of foreign specialists. But it was a completely different ISTC: very professional, but also adequate to that era. What has been done over these years, in our opinion, has really brought the ISTC to the number of leading IAEA training bases that train specialists in physical protection. Today, along with advanced Russian developments, equipment from leading global manufacturers is presented here. At the same time, from the very beginning, we had the task of using the most modern methods, technologies and equipment in the training process. And so that manufacturers would also be interested in offering and installing their next new products here for practical training. As it has already happened, for example, in the case of the German company GEUTEBRUCK.
I can say with full responsibility that I do not know of another center in the world where it is possible to conduct international practical courses with such high efficiency, test new equipment and popularize technological innovations in this area among professionals.
Last year, the IAEA management approached Russia with a request to expand the regional nature of the practical courses on physical protection held at the ISTC, and to offer participation in them from 2011 not only to European countries, but also to all IAEA member countries that meet the profile of this course. The Russian side supported this proposal, and two international training courses are already planned for this year. We invited 50 countries from all continents to participate in this program. These are countries that have nuclear power plants and/or research reactors above a certain capacity. At the end of June, guests from Australia, Brazil, Bangladesh, Canada, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Vietnam will study here for the first time, together with their colleagues from Europe and the CIS countries.
In general, the ISTC is a unique structure. And it is difficult to overestimate the importance for strengthening the global regime of physical nuclear security of the step taken by the Russian government and the State Corporation Rosatom by opening the Center for foreign citizens from IAEA member countries in 2001.
I have also learned a lot, supervising all international courses and projects of the IAEA in cooperation with the ISTC for ten years. My personal experience has confirmed that the successful operation of such a structure requires a combination of three components: modern equipment, professional instructors and teachers, and constantly updated educational and methodological materials. All of this is fully available at the Center. I cannot help but note how highly the course participants rate the professionalism of the local teachers. We monitor this very strictly, but in all our surveys we receive the most flattering reviews.
And there is also a wonderful atmosphere of mutual understanding and involvement in a common cause at the MSUC. There is a good infrastructure for recreation and communication of course participants. Thus, an informal international community of specialists in the physical protection of nuclear materials and nuclear industry facilities is gradually being formed. The MSUC plays one of the leading roles in this process.
Konstantin ARBUZOV, GEUTEBRUCK company
Our cooperation with the Inter-Industry Specialized Training Center is developing very successfully. We have certified almost the entire line of GEUTEBRUCK equipment supplied to Russia, and this includes dozens of groups of products with different functionality as part of the STN. Having a certificate is an important competitive advantage, provides new broad opportunities for expanding product sales, and helps stimulate new developments. Moreover, for customers, not only necessarily associated with the nuclear industry, the OIT certificate indicates the highest reliability and wide functionality of the devices, which is an important factor when choosing security equipment.
The joint work that we are doing now is, if you like, a new stage of cooperation. Colleagues from South Africa have chosen our equipment to equip their nuclear facilities, and our specialists, along with the instructors of the Inter-Industry Specialized Training Center, have joined the process of training users of GUETEBRUCK systems. This is a mutually beneficial process, because such communication will undoubtedly allow our company to study consumer requests more deeply and take them into account when developing and improving the equipment.
http://geutebrueck.ru
http://iaea.org