In a briefing to the delegates of the 48th IAEA General Conference, the IAEA underscored the importance of "Nuclear Knowledge Management" initiatives. Recent trends such as the "greying" of the nuclear workforce, declining student enrolment in nuclear-related fields and the threat of losing accumulated nuclear knowledge, have prompted the IAEA and others to take action.
Since the 2003 IAEA resolution calling upon the active involvement of the IAEA in this field, various IAEA initiatives, meeting and symposium have elevated this issue to a central position. They include the Asian Network for Education in Nuclear Technology (ANENT), Asian Nuclear Safety Network, and World Nuclear University, among others. Furthermore, the IAEA has also undertaken roles in knowledge preservation with the launch of the "IAEA Fast Reactor Knowledge Portal" - an initiative to establish a comprehensive, international inventory of fast reactor data and knowledge.
The IAEA′s Mr. Yanko Yanev briefed delegates on the main results of the September conference, "IAEA International Conference on Nuclear Knowledge Management" held in Saclay, France. Conference sessions covered all aspects of knowledge management from managing and preserving nuclear knowledge to networking education and training. Next steps focus on developing guidelines based on the successful initiatives already taken by the IAEA and Member States, initiate projects similar to the "IAEA Fast Reactor Knowledge Portal" and identify and disseminate knowledge management methodologies, tools and practices.