This is a translation of a press release from Vattenfall, which can be read in Swedish here
Forsmarks Kraftgrupp AB and Ringhals AB have signed an agreement with Uppsala University for a bachelor’s degree in nuclear technology. Forsmark and Ringhals support the program financially to secure highly qualified skills well into the 2040s.
– For the nuclear power industry, highly educated personnel are of great importance for a long time to come. Through this cooperation we can secure an essential part of the highly qualified skills that will be demanded in our operations in the 2040s, says Björn Linde, CEO of Forsmark and Ringhals.
The program has the first admission in autumn 2019 and the goal is to attract students on a broad front. The degree designation is ”Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering”.
– More and more people realize the great importance of nuclear power in meeting our major hostile issue, the climate challenge. Nuclear power is a future industry and the education at Uppsala University as well as Vattenfallgymnasiet in Forsmark are important for continued high competence in our industry, says Christopher Eckerberg, HR manager at BA Generation, Vattenfall.
The funding is specifically targeted at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, IFA, and will mainly be used for costs related to the teaching staff, including competence increase through research at the department’s Department of Applied Nuclear Physics. Through the agreement, the institution takes responsibility for the implementation of the assignment and the content of the education.
– This support means that Uppsala University and the Swedish industry in collaboration create conditions to meet the great need for university engineers for efficient nuclear power also in the future. With the competence support that is also included, we from the academic side can ensure that the education lies in the absolute forefront of the research, says Ane Håkansson who is a professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Uppsala University.
Ane Håkansson believes that there will be good demand for the education among the students.
– My impression is that young people today have drawn attention to the conclusions of the IPCC and other researchers that nuclear power must become an essential part of the world’s electricity supply in order for the climate target to be fulfilled. Many engineering students also testify that nuclear technology is very interesting to work with, but that one still hesitates to choose nuclear power as its specialty. This is now about to change completely and we see a boost in interest,”says Ane Håkansson
