Opening of the Next-Generation Nuclear Power Specialist Training Center to Solve Power Shortage in the AI Era

Ministry of Science and ICT Launches Full-Scale Training of Core Personnel to Lead Next-Generation Nuclear Power

A center to train next-generation nuclear power experts who will supply the massive electricity needed in the artificial intelligence (AI) era held its opening ceremony and officially began operations. The government plans to secure additional centers to accelerate the training of related personnel.

Lee Chang-yoon, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, is presenting the center plaque to Shim Hyung-jin, Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Engineering at Seoul National University, at the opening ceremony of the Next-Generation Nuclear Power Human Resources Development Center held on the afternoon of the 2nd at Seoul National University in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. Photo by Ministry of Science and ICT

The opening ceremony of the ‘Next-Generation Nuclear Power Expert Training Center’ was held on the 2nd at Seoul National University, attended by Lee Chang-yoon, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT.

The Ministry of Science and ICT designated the ‘Next-Generation Nuclear Power Expert Training Center’ to cultivate core talents who will lead the future nuclear power system market, including next-generation reactors, in a long-term and systematic manner. This is the first case, and two more centers will be designated by next year, making a total of three centers in operation. Each center will receive support of approximately 1.4 billion KRW annually for five years.

The centers will operate problem-solving programs reflecting corporate demands centered on the host universities and promote various industry-academia-research cooperation projects, such as participating in the design of future nuclear power systems currently underway at government-funded or corporate research institutes.

Seoul National University’s ‘Next-Generation High-Temperature Nuclear Power System Convergence and Complex Talent Training Center’ plans to systematically train master’s and doctoral personnel focusing on the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR), one of the next-generation non-light water reactors, including core element technologies, power conversion systems, and various application fields utilizing high-temperature heat.

According to the scientific community, fierce competition is underway worldwide to develop next-generation reactors such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to prepare for the massive electricity demand in the AI era. Advanced countries such as the United States (20 types), Russia (17 types), China (9 types), and Japan (6 types) are competitively developing SMRs.

Vice Minister Lee Chang-yoon stated in his congratulatory speech, “By the end of this year, we will prepare a ‘Next-Generation Nuclear Power Workforce Development Promotion Plan’ at the pan-government level to predict long-term demand and supply in research and industry sectors and carefully analyze the shortcomings of current projects to maximize workforce development outcomes.”

Following the opening ceremony, Vice Minister Lee held a meeting with the Nuclear Department Heads Council, composed of 17 major domestic universities related to nuclear power, to share the ministry’s current workforce development status and gather various field opinions to continuously produce outstanding talents in the future.