34^th Annual General Meeting of the Spanish Nuclear Society

The 34^th Annual General Meeting of the Spanish Nuclear Society took place in Murcia, from October 29 - 31, 2008. This meeting has become the focal point for professionals and companies active in the industry. More than 500 delegates gathered in Murcia to exchange professional experiences and to participate in a technical programme consisting of two plenary sessions and 25 technical sessions devoted to the most relevant issues facing the nuclear industry.

The plenary sessions were dedicated to “Water and energy” and “Nuclear programmes for development”. In the first plenary session international representatives of the water sector took part, including a responsible from the local region and a senior manager from the OIEA. Different aspects of how water policy and problems are related to the energy sector were discussed.

The second plenary session gave a global vision of the nuclear energy, focusing on an analysis of the current situation and on giving forecasts for the future.

The meeting also included sessions on a range of issues like “The licensing processes for new nuclear power plants”, “The activities of the Advanced Reactors Group of the Strategic Commission of Nuclear R&D (CEIDEN)”, “Challenges facing the nuclear future from a Young Generation Nuclear point of view”, “Strategic plans on R&D”, “Re-launching suspended projects” and “Safety culture within management systems.”

There was also the possibility for participants to attend revision courses aimed at enabling them to update their knowledge of specific technologies. These were interesting to sector professionals.

In addition, the social programme featured activities designed to enable participants to enjoy the countryside and traditional gastronomy of the region of Murcia and to participate in different entertaining activities, such as a golf championship and a photography contest.

An exhibition ran in parallel with these activities that allowed many exhibiting companies in the nuclear sector to demonstrate to attendees their current capabilities and latest technological advances. 

SNE’s Strategic Plan

The SNE is elaborating a Strategic Plan for the co-development of activities with the partners. The Plan has been drawn up by an ad-hoc committee made up of representatives of various industrial sectors and has been distributed to society members for comments and feedback.

Once the comments have been received the committee will draw up the final edition of the Plan for approval by the Governing Board of SNE. This Plan will be expanded to include an Action Plan and will strategically guide the activities of SNE over the next few years.

Comments on recent issues

Three new issues of the SNE Magazine were published during the last quarter, the Directory 2008, an issue on Education and knowledge management and the one on 34^th Annual Meeting.

The first issue contains the traditional Directory of Companies and Products, including two articles on general subjects. This issue has become a reference document for our sector, in which almost all companies involved with nuclear energy in Spain participate. 

The November issue was devoted to Education and knowledge management and included articles from the different universities and companies about education plans and meeting the demands of professionals in nuclear sector. The SNE publications committee decided to introduce this kind of information periodically in the magazine and the following issue, on the next Directory will also contain a list of undergraduate and post-graduate courses and Masters courses in nuclear energy related fields that students can attend in Spain or anywhere else in the world.

Finally, the December issue includes the report on the Annual General Meeting. It contained complete transcriptions of the opening, plenary and closing sessions and summarised the single issue and technical sessions. It aimed to give readers an idea of the range of topics addressed during the meeting. It also includes an article about the social events, the accompanying persons’ social programme and additional activities.  Contact SNE for a copy of the latest issues.

During the anual meeting of the SNE in Murcia, FORATOM was invited to make a presentation to the WIN (Women in Nuclear). The presentation focused on the nuclear scenario in Europe and the different EU Member States positions on the nuclear issue. A special emphasis was given to the Energy Policy for Europe. Discussions also evolved around public perception and acceptance and the results of the last Eurobarometer on Radioactive Waste published in July 2008.