The Wrocław University of Science and Technology and the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków will be the first universities in Poland to launch a course in nuclear power engineering. Educating specialists in this field is one of the most important challenges for the development of the nuclear power industry in Poland. “Nuclear engineers will be needed to operate the nuclear power plants that will be built in Poland in the coming years”, emphasises the Ministry of Education and Science, which supports the development of the new course.

Nuclear Power Engineering is an education option aimed at people who want to broaden their knowledge of mathematics, physics, nuclear chemistry, radiochemistry or radiological protection, and in the future also join the ranks of nuclear power plant employees.

The programme prepares students to work in interdisciplinary teams and to operate scientific, research and industrial nuclear equipment.

The curriculum of studies in nuclear power engineering provides education in construction of modern nuclear reactors, mechatronics and control systems, heat flow and exchange in nuclear reactors, the nuclear fuel cycle, principles of radiological protection, operation and safety of nuclear power plants.

The nuclear power industry needs properly prepared and educated engineers. An average of eight hundred people can be employed to work on just one reactor, of which about a hundred are specialists: design, nuclear, computer, electrical, mechanical, construction and many technicians. 

In February this year, the Wrocław University of Science and Technology and the AGH University of Science and Technology will be enrolling for master’s studies in nuclear power engineering. At the Wrocław University of Science and Technology, the course will be run by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Power Engineering, while at the AGH University of Science and Technology it will be run by the Faculty of Energy and Fuels.

Adrian Andrzejewski