Conference Agenda

Abstract

The nuclear sector is entering a period in which technological complexity, the pace of the energy transition, and the demand for a new generation of qualified specialists are all rising simultaneously. In this environment, classical lectures and static technical documentation increasingly struggle to convey how modern nuclear systems — from research reactors and operating power plants to advanced reactor concepts — are actually structured, how their subsystems interact, and how they fit into the broader energy landscape. Education, training and public communication therefore need tools that go beyond text and slides.

This contribution presents EnergyEncyclopedia.com, an online platform developed by Simopt that brings together three complementary layers of digital learning: detailed interactive 3D models, structured e-learning courses, and immersive virtual reality (VR) applications. The platform is built as a single educational environment that can be used in parallel by universities and technical schools, by operators for internal training, and by the wider public as part of outreach activities. By combining visualization, hands-on interaction and guided explanation, it makes the inner workings of nuclear and other energy technologies far more accessible than traditional materials alone.

The didactic concept of the platform is built around the idea of learning through interaction. Rather than passively reading or watching, users explore simplified yet technically faithful models of real systems — including reactor cores, primary and secondary circuits, fuel handling, and supporting infrastructure. Interactive 3D scenes allow components and processes to be examined in detail and at the user's own pace. VR applications place the user inside life-sized environments where complex systems can be inspected, disassembled and reassembled step by step. These experiences are framed by e-learning modules that provide structured background knowledge, supporting videos, narrated explanations and short quizzes for self-assessment.

Used together, these tools measurably improve engagement and depth of understanding, and they lower the entry barrier to topics that participants would otherwise find abstract or intimidating. They are equally relevant for university courses on reactor physics and operation, for training programmes around research reactors, and for outreach aimed at policy audiences, journalists and the general public.

Looking ahead, the sector will need to attract and prepare a new generation of engineers and operators capable of working with both established and emerging nuclear technologies. A key ambition of the EnergyEncyclopedia project is therefore not only to support existing education and training, but also to inspire young people to choose engineering and energy careers — and to sustain their long-term interest through modern, high-quality digital tools. The presentation will illustrate the approach with concrete examples from the platform and from the VR application, and will outline the educational use cases that have proved most effective so far.

European nuclear renewal hinges on bringing smaller national programmes into a coherent European competence ecosystem. The I2EN Seal mechanism and bilateral cooperation agreements are the instruments designed to deepen this integration; whether they anticipate, accompany or follow the integration they aim to deliver is rarely posed quantitatively. We address the question through a bibliometric reconstruction of the European nuclear research collaboration network from the OpenAlex record across 1995–2025, with the Slovenian sub-network as the analytical scope. The methodological centrepiece is the application of network link prediction to detect the structural emergence of institutional ties before they appear in the realised co-authorship record. Slovenia offers a high-resolution national experiment based on its five-decade nuclear research tradition anchored on the JSI TRIGA Mark II research reactor (whose 60th anniversary this conference marks), the Krško nuclear power plant, the September 2024 I2EN cooperation agreement with the University of Maribor, the February 2026 I2EN Seal Candidate status award, and the JEK2 government commitment. Estonia, as a new nuclear embarking country, offers the possibility to explore the effects of engagement with French nuclear institutions in the early stages of national nuclear programme development.
Three operationally significant findings emerge. First, the national position of the I2EN counterpart institutions is considered. The three institutions of the Slovenian nuclear research triad sit on distinct points of the structural-integration continuum. The Jožef Stefan Institute is already deeply embedded in the French nuclear research network: long-standing ties to the principal French research and operational institutions persist at strength, and the new ties to French academic centres anticipated by the latent-collaboration analysis have begun to materialise. The University of Ljubljana occupies an intermediate position, with modest-scale ties recently realised plus a basket of high-promise unrealised ties the network is structurally pointing toward. The University of Maribor has no realised publication ties to the French core, with predicted-tie scores well below the threshold of materialisation. In Estonia, the Tallinn University of Technology is the country’s only technical university and is thereby responsible for the national development of the engineering profession.
Second, the role of I2EN cooperation agreements in the development of smaller national nuclear programmes is considered. The September 2024 I2EN cooperation agreement with the University of Maribor reads as prospective and structural rather than as the formalisation of an emergent tie. The agreement establishes a framework whose bibliometric signature, given typical publication-cycle delays, would be expected to appear in 2026–2028. The formal instrument applied to institutions at different points of the continuum produces different downstream patterns, with direct implications for Seal Candidate design and evaluation. At present, I2EN and the Tallinn University of Technology are discussing the parameters for a cooperation agreement. In this manner, it is possible to compare historical, present, and future influences of collaboration with I2EN.
Third, the latent-collaboration map identifies a coherent structural opportunity between French nuclear institutions and programmes in Central and Eastern Europe. In Slovenia, several of the highest-scoring unrealised ties involve the Slovenian institutions with regional nuclear research institutions, at latent scores in some cases exceeding the Slovenian–French candidates. As the Estonian nuclear landscape develops, it is analogously possible to define nuclear collaborating partners in research, education, and training throughout the nascent nuclear supply chain. The French-centric orientation of the I2EN portfolio may be productively complemented by Central and Eastern European focused mechanisms targeting these regional ties.
Methodologically, link prediction on the institutional collaboration layer functions as a leading indicator with several years of foresight: structural-integration shifts surface in the predicted tie scores well before they appear as realised co-authored publications, giving bilateral cooperation programmes a forward-looking diagnostic rather than a backward-looking one.
The implications are operational. Bibliometric monitoring of latent collaboration trajectories provides a quantitative evaluation metric for Seal Candidate engagements. The heterogeneous Slovenian case shows that intervention design depends on the engaged institution's position on the integration continuum; the extrapolation of these findings to the Estonian case is explored. The latent map identifies regional opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe that complement the French-centric orientation. The post-2024 monitoring of University of Maribor–French institutions collaboration will provide the discriminating evidence on whether the agreement delivers its prospective integration in the publication record; similarly, the connection to the Tallinn University of Technology permits expansion and generalisation of the findings. The broader European scale analysis from which this case study is extracted is the subject of a forthcoming journal publication.

With the revival of the nuclear sector, recruitment needs for the next ten years are very high in France (over 10,000 employees per year) in industry, start-up, R&D company and research structures. Several initiatives at different academic levels are conducted to promote the nuclear field, its various applications and its shortage occupations, to attract students, graduates and attracted already-employed professionals to this field, and to provide them strong skills by means of training leading to a diploma or continuing job education or professional development.

In this context, the Filière Instrumentation (Instrumentation unit) of the Physics Department of the Sciences Faculty at Aix-Marseille University (AMU) has expanded its actions in the nuclear field and especially in nuclear instrumentation and measurement over the past 8 years.

The different actions are based on strong links with research within the framework of the joint LIMMEX laboratory (Laboratory of Instrumentation and Measurement Methods under EXtreme conditions) between AMU (IM2NP institute) and the CEA (IRESNE institute) and in particular thanks to its research axis dedicated to online measurement of the nuclear heating rate using innovative calorimeters that embed sample of materials relevant to fission. These actions are realized in collaboration with several key players (in France such as CEA, INSTN, FORMASUP MEDITERRANEE, EDF, “Campus des Métiers et des Qualifications d’Excellence – Industrie du Futur Sud – Région PACA”, “Université des Métiers du Nucléaire”, SNEF POWER SERVICES, CAPGEMINI… and abroad such as Jožef Sfefan Institute, ENEEP, the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory of the MIT, CAEN SpA, CNESTEN, SCK-CEN…)

For instance, these actions are:

- creation of a new master’s degree dedicated to Instrumentation and Measurement Science for major Nuclear research facilities (IMSci-Nu master) in 2022

- creation of a new course on the fundamentals of engineering for nuclear power plants in operation in an existing master’s degree in Engineering in Industrial Instrumentation in 2024

- opening of a new work-study program by adding specific courses and case studies in 2025

- organization of yearly winter school created in 2023 (IMSci-Nu School)

- integration of new pedagogical tools (escape game, hands-on, VR)

- organization of seminars offering testimonials from graduates working in the nuclear

- realization of tours of laboratories and facilities

- awarding of scholarships

- development of intense short study-periods abroad with an immersion in a research reactor and research programs dealing with innovative calorimeters

The presentation will deal with these intense short study-periods currently organized as part of the OPPEN project.

First a brief history with the institutional background will be given since their creation in 2018.

Then, the main phases of this immersive training activity will be described: application, selection and preparation of the master students in France, implementation of various educational activities abroad (seminars, courses, hands-on, tours).

Moreover, the presentation will highlight three examples of specific mobility periods at the Jožef Stefan Institute realized through ENEEP during the summers of 2024, 2025, and 2026, respectively, with selected students enrolled in the first year of the Master’s degree in Instrumentation, Measurement and Metrology at AMU. During each mobility period, an irradiation campaign was conducted in the JSI TRIGA reactor to characterize prototypes of innovative calorimeters. For instance in 2026, two CALORRE-type calorimeters (a dual-sample calorimeter and a 3-D printed calorimetric cell) are studied be part of the CALORRE-TRIGA project led by AMU in partnership with JSI and CEA (OFFERR funded project).

The presentation will explain how students are involved in these irradiation campaigns and how they benefit from them.

Finally, this presentation will conclude on the transformative effects on the pedagogical approach, the student engagement resulting from the strong links between research and education and the impact and will outline prospects for new tools to be developed.

Generation IV reactors represent a new generation of nuclear technologies, with specific, innovative features. Their improved safety, efficiency, and sustainability need to be fully demonstrated, before they become operational.

The ANSELMUS (Advanced Nuclear Safety Evaluation of Liquid Metal Using Systems) project (https://www.anselmus.eu/) aims to significantly contribute to the safety assessment of heavy liquid metal (HLM) systems, the investigations being focused on ALFRED, the European lead fast reactor demonstrator, and MYRRHA, a lead-bismuth eutectic cooled accelerator driven system.

Started on September 1, 2022 and relying on the expertise of 16 partners from 8 European countries, and EU-JRC, all project activities are designed to support the deployment of HLM cooled systems in Europe.

The success of research and innovation projects depends primarily on the quality of scientific and technological outcomes, but also on the capacity to effectively disseminate, communicate, and exploit project results. Fully aware of this, the ANSELMUS partners have adopted a comprehensive dissemination and exploitation strategy aimed at maximizing the visibility and usability of its achievements across scientific, industrial, policy, and societal domains.

Dissemination activities within ANSELMUS are designed to ensure that project knowledge, methodologies, tools, and findings reach relevant stakeholders in a timely and accessible manner. To achieve an effective dissemination, ANSELMUS employs a multi-channel communication framework that includes scientific publications, conference presentations, workshops, lectures series, short films, newsletters, social media posts, and project website updates. These activities are tailored to address the needs of different target groups, including researchers, industry representatives, policymakers, public authorities, civil society organizations, and end users.

Scientific dissemination constitutes a central pillar of the ANSELMUS strategy. Project partners actively contribute to peer-reviewed journals, international conferences, and specialized workshops to ensure that research outcomes are validated, shared, and integrated into the broader scientific community. Open-access principles are promoted whenever possible in order to increase accessibility, transparency, and reproduction of the project results.

Generally speaking, the stakeholder categories in case of innovative reactor projects typically include: Government & Regulators; Local Communities; Industry & Supply Chain; Academia & Research Institutions; Media & Public; Technology Developers, General Public. The ANSELMUS project stakeholders and their possible interest in the project will be presented. In the interaction with stakeholders (the process of engaging with groups or organizations who have an interest in, or are affected by the project), four levels of engagement with stakeholders were defined (informing, consulting, involving, and collaborating may be considered).

Beyond academic dissemination, ANSELMUS places strong emphasis on stakeholder-oriented communication and engagement. The project seeks to establish active interaction with industrial actors, public institutions, and innovation ecosystems to facilitate the transfer of knowledge into practical applications. A dedicated stakeholder workshop will be used to gather the project stakeholder feedback. This participatory approach enhances the alignment of project outcomes with real-world challenges and market demands.

Exploitation activities in ANSELMUS focus on transforming research results into sustainable value and long-term impact. The project adopts a structured exploitation framework that identifies key exploitable results, assesses their innovation potential, and defines appropriate pathways for further development and deployment. These pathways may include commercialization, standardization, integration into industrial processes, policy implementation, capacity-building initiatives, or future research collaborations.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) management is addressed through clear consortium agreements and exploitation plans that ensure both the protection of innovations and the fair distribution of benefits among project partners.

Sustainability represents another critical dimension of the ANSELMUS dissemination and exploitation strategy. The project aims to ensure that its results remain accessible, relevant, and operational beyond the project lifetime. This includes maintaining digital resources, fostering long-term stakeholder networks, supporting policy integration, and identifying follow-up funding opportunities. By embedding sustainability considerations into its dissemination and exploitation planning, ANSELMUS enhances the durability and replicability of its outcomes.

Moreover, ANSELMUS actively seeks to establish synergies with related European and international initiatives, industrial networks, and policy platforms. Such collaborations enhance the scalability and interoperability of project outcomes while reinforcing their relevance to current societal and industrial challenges. Engagement with stakeholders and end-users throughout the project duration also ensures that developed solutions remain aligned with real-world needs and expectations.

Ultimately, the ANSELMUS Project views dissemination and exploitation not as isolated activities, but as interconnected processes that bridge research excellence with societal and economic impact. Through a proactive and integrated strategy, ANSELMUS seeks to strengthen innovation capacity, promote knowledge transfer, support evidence-based policymaking, and contribute to sustainable development objectives at regional, national, and European levels.

The paper will present the framework developed for performing dissemination activities for the project and exploitation activities of the results. The obtained results in these directions will be specified, along with the promotion of the future planned activities of the partners.