In 2014 the South African government revealed a potential nuclear partnership with Russia to build nuclear power plants in the country.
One year later, The Department of Energy signed a memorandum to send 200 engineers to Russia for training.
The memorandum stipulated the development of educational materials and scientific literature on nuclear power, student exchange programs for students of various levels of training, organization of internships and summer courses, student competitions and teacher training.
A second memorandum identified the joint efforts to promote nuclear power in South Africa, increasing the awareness of the residents about modern nuclear technologies used in the power industry and in other industries, and ensuring public acceptance of nuclear power.
The Russian side will also support the Nuclear Energy Information Centre in South Africa to exchange information and best practices in the nuclear industry by organizing working visits and international conferences and exhibitions.
The same year, South Africa sent students to China, which is also looking to take over the nuclear projects. The State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (now part of State Power Investment Corporation) created a team of expert within the SNPTC university to familiarize the CAP1400 technology to the students.