The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently agreed to strengthen its collaboration with the International Youth Nuclear Congress (IYNC), a global network of young professionals working within the field of nuclear energy.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has launched the first regional training course in the Middle East on pressurised water reactors. In cooperation with the University of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, the course took place between 19 and 23 February and brought together more than 20 participants from eight IAEA Member States at the university's College of Engineering.

Georgia Power has hired 14 operators for Vogtle 3 and 4 from the abandoned VC Summer nuclear project. In its latest report to the Georgia Public Service Commission, the company said this will save nearly two years of training time and costs.

Those who enter the workforce in the coming years will be greeted with the opportunity to be a part of one of Canada's most exciting industries, Glenn Thibeault, Ontario's energy minister, told delegates at the Canadian Nuclear Association's Annual Conference & Trade Show, which was held in Ottawa on 23 February.

Nuclear companies have some of the most technologically advanced projects in the energy industry. Yet, perceptions of digitalisation are somewhat skewed, write Janette Marx and Hannah Peet.

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is teaming up with the Foundation for Student Science and Technology to launch a new series of national programmes "targeted to exceptional young people pursuing innovative careers in science, technology, engineering, arts and maths". The first two programmes will target young women and future leaders.

World Nuclear Association yesterday presented its Harmony programme to members of Foratom, the Brussels-based trade association for the nuclear energy industry in Europe. Harmony is the nuclear industry vision for the future of electricity and how nuclear energy can help the world achieve its 2-degree climate target.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority has welcomed the government's investment of GBP86 million that will fund the building and operation of a National Fusion Technology Platform at Culham Science Centre, which is expected to open in 2020. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced the new funding as part of a series of measures that aim to support the development of 'next-generation nuclear technology', which follows publication of the government's Industrial Strategy white paper last month.

The UK government has announced a series of measure that aim to realise the full potential of the of the country's nuclear power industry. The document 'Government to support development of next-generation nuclear technology' follows publication of the Industrial Strategy white paper last month, a core objective of which is to "ensure the UK is developing the technologies of the future and preparing to seize the opportunities they bring and build on its strengths", the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said.

L3 MAPPS has been contracted by EDF Energy Nuclear Generation to supply two classroom simulators to its Nuclear Power Academy in the UK. The project is under way and the two simulators will be put into service in the first quarter of 2018, the Montreal, Canada-headquartered company said yesterday.

Nuclear power accounted for a fifth of total electricity produced in the UK last year and it remains the largest single source of low carbon electricity in the UK, providing 46% of the low carbon electricity produced, with wind, solar, hydro and biomass providing the remainder, according to the Nuclear Industry Association's first Activity Report, issued today. With two-thirds of all dispatchable power capacity retiring between 2010 and 2030, including all but one of the country's existing nuclear stations, the NIA warns that this will need to be replaced with a new fleet to continue providing the reliable, secure low carbon power the UK will need.

Harmonising the training of contractors to access multiple nuclear facilities in the USA is one example of ensuring safety amid pressures on the industry to cut costs and remain competitive, Peter Prozesky, CEO of the World Association of Nuclear Operators, told World Nuclear News in a recent interview. This approach is one answer to the industry's need to align its procedures, as outlined in World Nuclear Association’s Harmony initiative, he added.