On June 30, 2015 delegation of the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (NEA OECD), led by Director General William D. Magwood IV (USA) has visited MEPhI. The delegation consisted of: Cynthia Gannon-Picot (USA) – Chief of Cabinet, Head of the Central Secretariat, External Relations and Public Affairs, Michael Siemann (Germany) – Head of the Division of Radiological Protection and Radioactive Waste Management, Jim Gulliford (UK) – Head of the Division of Nuclear Science. They were accompanied by an employee of the State Corporation “Rosatom” L.N. Andreeva-Andrievskaya – Head of Project Office for Cooperation with the NEA OECD.

The NEA is a specialized Agency within the OECD, an intergovernmental organization of industrialized countries, founded in 1958 with its headquarters in Paris (France). Currently the OECD includes 31 countries fr om Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. Russia has joined the Agency in 2014. The goal of the NEA is to promote further development of its members through international and technological cooperation necessary for the safe use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without detriment to the environment.

According to the NEA OECD, Russian scientists make a significant contribution to international cooperation on nuclear energy in general and in particular – in the development of fast power reactors, wh ere Russia is recognized as a global leader.

The Agency supports MEPhI activity in training scientific personnel for countries planning to construct the first nuclear power plants on its territory. An accident in Fukushima (Japan) showed the importance of safe NPP operation one more time. The Agency is trying to verify the accuracy of the provided information about accidents at nuclear power plants, but to a great extent the Agency has to rely on the providers of these data. Database on accidents is available through the Security Department of the Agency.

The Nuclear Energy Agency pays great attention to protection of the environment, for example through the exchange of new technologies for management of spent nuclear fuel and disposal of radioactive wastes.

The Agency provides internships for University students. Type of their work depends on student’s specialization. For example, they can develop a search engine to compare available data. Currently the Agency employs two MEPhI graduates.

At the end of the meeting NEA Director General urged young professionals and especially girls to take an active part in drafting laws and regulations in the field of nuclear energy. He also invited all participants to make an application to work in the Agency.