Mumbai: In an effort to assist India`s
growing need of human resources for expanding nuclear power
industry, about 25 schools of atomic energy are being planned
in the next two years to produce at least 500 engineers.
Gandhinagar-based Pandit Deendayal Petroleum
University has tied up with P M Dimensions, an engineering
consulting company for M Tech course in nuclear engineering.
The Gujarat Government university is the first varsity
to tie-up with P M Dimensions, a private entity which has
taken the initiative to set up around 25 schools across India.
The course in nuclear engineering began on October 12,
P M Dimensions Director Makarand Rajadhyaksha said at the
second Indo-French nuclear business meet here yesterday.
Rajadhyaksha said his company would introduce a world-
class uniform curriculum and at the same time reduce the cost
of engineering training for the price-sensitive Indian market
and ensure that talent gets attracted to nuclear industry.
"We have already roped in 25 experienced nuclear
industry professionals working earlier with Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre (BARC) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India
Ltd (NPCIL) to develop and deliver comprehensive training to
organisations across nuclear value chain," he said.
For the last 50 years, human resource training for
nuclear science and industry has been confined to government
institutes and companies like BARC and NPCIL.
Talking about major challenges that India faces for
nuclear workforce development, Rajadhyaksha said one of them
was non-uniform curricula and delivery mechanisms across
training institutions.
"We are trying to evolve a uniform curriculum."
Other challenges include costly nuclear education and
expensive laboratory equipment, he said.
"We have initiated an academic network for education
in nuclear engineering by pooling together experienced faculty
that can be shared amongst institutions and building a
centralised laboratory that could be used on time-share
basis," Rajadhyaksha said.
"We are also looking for active participation from
nuclear industry players."
Prof R R Puri, Head of BARC`s HRD Division and Dean of
Homi Bhabha Nuclear Institute (HBNI), a Deemed University,
said training of engineering graduates was very important
especially to impart the implicit and tacit knowledge which is
not available in books.
So far 7,600 students have graduated from BARC`s
training school and employed in different units of Department
of Atomic Energy (DAE), he said.
HBNI is a new initiative by DAE which is conducting
M Tech, M Phil, PhD, PG diploma and integrated five-year MSc
courses, Puri said.
Rajadhyaksha said the schools would come up in states
which have nuclear power plants.
French Nuclear Academy Chief Executive Tanguy
Cathelain said shortage of skilled manpower in multi-billion
dollar atomic industry is a worldwide phenomenon.
In France, they were facing problem on human resources
front as majority of the nuclear workforce is on the verge of
retirement and the situation is manageable only for two to
three years, he said.
"Therefore, we have formed Burgundy Nuclear
Partnership in which 130 members from industries, universities
and nuclear laboratories would focus on training engineers and
project managers," he said.
The training programme would cover promoting equipment
supply chain, building new reactors and also decommissioning
reactors, Cathelain said.
Bureau Report
