AREN – Young Generation chapter organises workshop on knowledge transfer

During the international Nuclear 2012 conference that was organized by the Nuclear Research Institute in Pitesti, the Young Generation chapter of AREN (the Romanian Association for Nuclear Energy) co-ordinated a workshop dedicated to the subject of nuclear knowledge transfer from senior experts to younger specialists. The concept of the workshop was to create a framework within which different generations could meet and freely discuss the issue of knowledge transfer and to select the best related practices applied by various organisations.

The guest speakers were top-level representatives of various areas within the nuclear education field, including  Petre Ghitescu, a professor at the University of Bucharest; Victoria Balaceanu, an expert in engineering and design research from the Pitesti Nuclear Research Institute; Gheorghe Simionescu of CITON and Teodor Chirica of AMEC Romania, who represented the private business sector. After the lectures, Mihaela Stiopol, President of AREN, gace a concluding speech.

The senior experts in the nuclear field who were present highlighted the expectations they had for the young generation, as well as the challenges that lie ahead of them. The most significant values that young people have to accept and asssimilate in order to take over the seniors’ responsibilities are intrinsic and genuine motivation, enthusiasm, passion, integrity and honesty.

The around 50 participants that took part in the workshop were able to draw useful conclusions with regards to knowledge management best practices and the importance of effective communications between generations in order to facilitate the transferring of values and for sustaining the impetus to drive forward the nuclear community.

The 2012 Alexandru Ene drawing and essay competition

 AREN and the Romanian Atomic Forum (ROMATOM) recently organised the latest edition of the annual Alexandru Ene children’s drawing competition and the The Atom – My friend essay writing competition.

During April and May, special activities for promoting and supporting these events were carried out in schools across Bucharest, Cernavoda, Pitesti and other towns. The announcement reached counties as far away as Hunedoara, Ialomita, Arad, Tulcea, Constanta, etc. By 28 May, 386 drawings and 48 essays had been received as entries to the competition. The participants were school and high school pupils aged up to 19 years old, who were able to show the full extent of their imagination and creativity under the supervision of their art, physics and biology teachers.

To encourage greater objectivity and transparency when it comes to judging the entries, the competition was split in to two categories: for art school  and high school children, respectively. This was done in order to allow equal opportunity to both those students who have and outstanding talent for drawing and those who are only guided by inspiration and creativity when it comes handling a paint brush. The creations on display illustrated the main topics of the contest: What do we know about energy? The Atom – My friend, Nuclear Power Saves the Environment and The Energy of the Third Millennium.

The competition ended on 6 June 2012, with an exhibition at the  Constantin Brancusi Hall of the Parliament Palace, where all the participants were awarded diplomas, not only the winners. Moreover, all entries to the competition were exhibited. Thus, for three days, all the artists present, tourists, children and parents popped by to admire the drawings. The mission of the jury was a difficult one, having to evaluate both artistic impression and the message conveyed by every drawing or essay.

Mihaela Stiopol, together with the Deputy General Secretary of ROMATOM, Valentina Dinu, and Young Generation Network members, Livia Chitu and Lavinia Rizea, awarded the prizes to the most talented children. Special prizes were also awarded for originality and composition. The winning drawings will be on display not just at different locations around Bucharest, but also across the country (Pitesti, Cernavoda, etc).

We would like to thank all the children who took part in the 18th edition of Alexandru Ene drawings and essays competition. We appreciate their interest, as well as the desire and creativity that they they showed in presenting and converting the atom into the nucleus of their artistic works’ universe.

Educational seminars 2012

The success of similar projects developed during the last school year convinced the members of the Romanian Association “Nuclear Energy” to carry on with them during this academic year. In addition, they pledged their continued support for the educational project that aims to provide students and teachers with the latest proper and accurate information about nuclear energy, starting with schools and high schools in Bucharest.

The modesty in assessing the success of such projects resulted in the realisation that one seminar scheduled for approximately 100 students is not enough. Thus, in order to facilitate the participation of as many students as possible in these seminars the project had to be extended to include three separate seminars, each addressing the same theme, Nuclear Energy – Myths and Truth. Discussions were concentrated on themes like nuclear energy, nuclear power plants and the myths and truth about radiation.

The superficial, inaccurate and sometimes unhelpful information that students can receive during classes, as well as the stereotypes that we are exposed to every day, lead to the creation of this initiative, which is aimed at dispelling the myths that surround all things nuclear.

The organisers and lecturers that deliver the presentations are all members of the AREN Young Generation chapter. They signed up to the project briging all their enthusiasm and knowledge to bear to promote and disseminate better and more accurate information on nuclear energy to a large audience.

The best feedback that could have been received at the end of this project was to see the amazed and excited faces of the students as they learned how and where nuclear energy is generated, or touched a nuclear fuel bundle or discussed the advantages and drawbacks related to different sources of energy.