China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) will invest and build a National Nuclear Industry University in Tianjin, aiming to create a state-level innovation demonstration base integrating talent skills training, master’s and doctoral degree education, international academic exchange, and core technology research and development.
China needs a National Nuclear Industry University
According to Wan Gang, president of China Institute of Atomic Energy, China’s nuclear technology industry system is relatively ample. However, the nuclear industry supply chain is long and there are too many disciplines in nuclear courses. Plus, a few professions (such as uranium concentration, post-processing, nuclear fusion, etc.) have poor homogeneity and low demand.
Therefore, it is difficult for domestic existing nuclear specialty colleges to meet the talent supply. He cited the example of CNNC’s acceptance of graduates in 2016. Among the 2,300 graduates, only 20.29% graduated from the nuclear profession, and less than 6% were autonomously trained by the universities or colleges. During the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” period, the total number of nuclear professionals cannot reach 50% of what CNNC needs. In addition, the sensitivity of the nuclear profession restricts the introduction of foreign talents. The industry specificity and lack of related policy advantages also make it difficult to attract and retain domestic talents.
Wan Gang suggested that Chinese government shall refer to the mode of running the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to carry out small-scale and much-needed undergraduate professional education while at the same time to implement postgraduate training and retraining of on-the-job personnel. Thus, China’s nuclear industry can expect sustainable development of different levels of professional talents.
