The GRE@T-PIONEeR project aims at developing a specialized education in reactor physics and nuclear reactor safety for PhD and Post-Doc students, for nuclear engineers, and taken as advanced courses for MSc students. The education will encompass both theory and hands-on training exercises, the latter heavily relying on the use of research/training reactors and of computer-based modelling environments. Sets of educational materials capitalizing on each other will be created, taking profit of the complementary expertise of the consortium partners. The covered topics will allow the students to fully comprehend all the methods and corresponding approximations used for modelling the behaviour of nuclear reactor cores, from the generation of nuclear cross-sections to the response of a reactor during a transient. By following the courses and hands-on training sessions, the students will be able to perform nuclear reactor safety simulations understanding all the approximations on which such simulations rely. This knowledge is essential for educating highly skilled nuclear safety analysts. Furthermore, the project will make use of an innovative pedagogical approach allowing (a) to improve student learning, (b) to maximize the time the students interact with the teachers, and (c) to provide education to remote students. For that purpose, a flipped classroom set-up offered in a hybrid environment allowing combining on-site and off-site attendees will be used. The flipped classroom format, by utilizing pre-recorded lectures and electronic teaching resources available 24/7, will allow the students to learn at their own pace prior to dedicated sessions during which they will interact with the teachers, either on-site or remotely for the off-site attendees. The synchronous sessions will heavily rely on active learning elements promoting high order thinking skills and will thus greatly improve the learning experience and outcomes for both the on-site an off-site audiences.

Nuclear research reactors (RR) have been constructed in countries implementing nuclear power plants and used in experiments necessary to develop commercial reactors and training programmes. Neutron irradiations have found new applications in the adaption and production of existing and new materials, including medical radioisotopes. The latter enabled development of new diagnosis and treatment techniques, for the benefit of millions of patients. Europe has a broad and very diverse landscape of RRs, many of them 30-50 years in operation, well maintained and regularly upgraded. Yet financial pressure, caused by combination of declining interest and the absence of a sound financial model, led to closure of many of them ( e.g OSIRIS in Saclay) and a few others will close soon (e.g. BER2 in Berlin). On the other hand, only one RR is now being constructed – the Jules Horowitz Reactor. Those negative trends call for a coordinated European action to assess the impact of the decreasing number of RRs, identify future needs (including new neutron sources), draw a roadmap for upgrade of the existing RR fleet, and a model for harmonized resource management. TOURR project is a response to this challenge. Its primary objective is to develop a strategy for RR in Europe and prepare the ground for its implementation. This strategic goal can be divided into specific objectives: (1) Assessment of the current status of European RR fleet, including plans for upgrade; (2) Evaluation of urgent EU needs; (3) Developing tools for optimal use of RR fleet, (4) Rising awareness among decision makers on the (future) role of RRs. The ambition of TOURR project is to secure access and availability of RRs as a vital part of the European Research Area and to support stable supply of medical radioisotopes.

In order to maintain European nuclear operations, expertise in nuclear and radiochemistry (NRC) is of strategic relevance. Besides the obvious needs of NRC skills in the context of nuclear power and assessment of disposal options for nuclear waste there are many other applications. This includes radiologic diagnostics and therapy, unthinkable without radiopharmaceutical chemistry, dating in geology and archaeology, (nuclear) forensics and safeguard operations, radiation protection including radioecological assessments of releases and legacies and last but not least basic research e.g. on super heavy elements. The MEET-CINCH project will counteract the massive lack of NRC expertise by three actions. A teaching package for high schools and a MOOC on NRC for general public are built in order to attract young persons to the NRC field and convey them its fascination and relevance. Two additional actions focus on vocational training and (university) education. MEET-CINCH will develop completely new education and training approaches based on remote teaching and the flipped classroom concept including and further developing material generated in the CINCH I and CINCH II projects, such as the NucWik platform and the remote controlled RoboLab experiments. MEET-CINCH will provide ECVET course modules in an e-Shop adapted to the needs of end-users which have been surveyed in the previous projects. After the end of MEET-CINCH the e-shop will be continuously operated by the NRC-network as part of a sustainable European Fission Training Scheme (EFTS). The consortium includes 13 partners from ten European member states; both academia and nuclear laboratories are represented. All partners are experienced in conducting training and education. Networking on national and European level will be an important part of the project, facilitated by having ENEN as one of the partners and by having structural links with other Euratom projects, the EuCheMS DNRC and the NRC-network.

The main objective of the proposed CORONA II project is to enhance the safety of nuclear installations through further improvement of the training capabilities aimed at building up the necessary personnel competencies. Specific objective of the proposed CORONA II project is to proceed with the development of state-of-the-art regional training center for VVER competence (which will be called CORONA Academy), whose pilot implementation through CORONA project (2011-2014) proved to be viable solution for supporting transnational mobility and lifelong learning amongst VVER operating countries. The project aims at continuation of the European cooperation and support in the area for preservation and further development of expertise in the nuclear field by improvement of higher education and training. This objective will be realized through networking between universities, research organisations, regulatory bodies, industry and any other organisations involved in the application of nuclear science, ionising radiation and nuclear safety. The proposed CORONA Academy will maintain the nuclear expertise by gathering the existing and generating new knowledge in the VVER area. It will bring together the most experienced trainers in the different aspects of the area within EU and abroad, thus overcoming the mobility challenge that stands ahead the nuclear education and training community. The selected form of the CORONA Academy, together with the online availability of the training opportunities will allow trainees from different locations to access the needed knowledge on demand. The available set of courses will cover the whole range of training of VVER specialists from the university until reaching high professional skills and competences in the area.

Expertise in nuclear and radiochemistry (NRC) is of strategic relevance in the nuclear energy sector and in many vital applications. The need for radiochemistry expertise will even increase as the focus shifts from safe nuclear power plant operation to decontamination and decommissioning, waste management and environmental monitoring. The non-energy fields of NRC applications are even much broader ranging from life sciences – radiopharmaceuticals, radiological diagnostics and therapy – through dating in geology and archaeology, (nuclear) forensics and safeguards operations, to radiation protection and radioecology. The A-CINCH project primarily addresses the loss of the young generation's interest for nuclear knowledge by focusing on secondary / high school students and teachers and involving them by the “Learn through Play” concept. This will be achieved by bringing advanced educational techniques such as state-of the art 3D virtual reality NRC laboratory, Massive Open Online Courses, RoboLab distance operated robotic experiments, Interactive Screen Experiments, NucWik database of teaching materials, or Flipped Classroom, into the NRC education. All the new and existing tools wrapped-up around the A-CINCH HUB – a user-friendly and easy-to-navigate single point of access – will contribute increasing the number of students and trainees in the field of nuclear and radiochemistry. Nuclear awareness will be further increased by the High School Teaching Package, Summer Schools for high school students, Teach the Teacher package and many others. Additionally, successful educational and training tools from previous projects will be continued and further developed. Networking is an important part of the project, facilitated by having ENEN as one of the partners and by having structural links with other Euratom projects, the EuChemS, the NRC-Network as well as by additional links with other end users and stakeholders including the high schools.