From 5 to 9 October, the ETSON JSP Workshop took place at SÚRO, an event held annually as part of the ETSON (European Technical Safety Organisations Network) group. The goal of the event was to share work experiences and establish contacts among young scientists in the nuclear sector, working in nuclear technical support organizations (TSOs). For the very first time in the history of ETSON JSP, the event was held in Prague, with representatives from TSOs from 8 European countries attending.
The official opening happened on Monday, 5 October, and started with an introductory speech by Aleš Froňka, director of SÚRO, followed by mutual introductions of all participating institutions and a presentation of SÚRO’s activities. The professional work of SÚRO was presented by Jan Syblík and Anna Selivanova, representing the Research and Analysis of Nuclear Safety Department and the Emergency Preparedness Department. Monday’s programme concluded with a tour of SÚRO’s laboratories.
The morning session was filled with lectures from individual participants, covering topics of both technical and regulatory nature. The workshop was generally focused on the challenges associated with new nuclear sources, SMRs, and new types of nuclear fuels. The day ended with a lecture by Ondřej Novák, chairman of the young generation of the Czech Nuclear Society from FJFI ČVUT, focusing on the global development of energy infrastructure and the differences in financing systems for new nuclear sources in various countries.
On Wednesday, the participants accompanied by Aneta Beyrová, visited the laboratories of ÚJV Řež and CVŘ. They learned details about the operations of the largest nuclear research institution in the Czech Republic and got to see both of its research reactors (LVR-15, LR-0) and hot cells. For young researchers, especially in computational divisions, visits like these are key because they often do not get to physically experience experimental facilities during their professional work.
On Thursday, the block of participant lectures was wrapped up, followed by a group activity – a case study – focused on solving problems related to the implementation of futuristic nuclear technologies, such as MSR, ADR, or inertial nuclear fusion. Participants were divided into expert groups, who had the task of presenting their solutions to the main obstacles to the rest of the audience, representing key stakeholders – the public, the nuclear regulator, and the operator. After the case study, there was a lecture on nuclear challenges in the Czech Republic from the perspective of SÚJB, prepared by Daniel Vlček. At the end of Thursday’s professional program, participants moved to the laboratories of FZU AV ČR, where they visited the world-unique Surface Science Laboratory Station (SSLS) for surface studies. We thank Ms. Evgenia Chitrová for organising the visit.
Friday started with a meeting of the ETSON JSP delegates, who had the chance to share their impressions from the recent Workshop and discuss the group's future plans. The programme wrapped up with an online presentation of the activities of the European Commission's (EC) Joint Research Centre (JRC).
