Poland and South Korea join forces to create a European nuclear training center

Poland has recently strengthened its academic cooperation with South Korea through a memorandum on nuclear energy. The two countries hope their universities’ collaboration will lead to the creation of a European training center that will serve purposes beyond participation in the Konin-Pątnów nuclear power plant project.

University leaders signed the framework document on March 25 at the University of Warsaw alongside their Korean counterparts. The planned training center is expected to offer specialist education and the technological know-how of South Korea’s national energy company, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP).

The center is to be established through an initiative by the University of Warsaw’s Faculty of Physics, reinforcing Poland’s efforts to build a strong nuclear sector. The memorandum was signed by the University of Warsaw, KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School (KINGS), Pusan ​​National University (PNU) and the Korea Nuclear Association for International Cooperation (KNA).

“To build a nuclear energy sector in Poland, we need people with a solid education. We have many talented students and doctoral candidates who can become experts in this field. This is possible thanks to cooperation with our Korean partners. I am grateful to researchers from the faculties of physics, chemistry and oriental studies, as well as from Korean universities, for their openness, commitment and efforts to build mutual ties,”the rector of the University of Warsaw said on the occasion of the signing.

The project will receive funding from the European Funds for Social Development (FERS), which includes, among other things, improving the quality of education. The fund covers the 2021–2027 period, and Poland can use up to 5 billion euros from it for investments.

The creation of a new program and the redesign of existing nuclear energy education have received 2 million euros. Additional funding will be allocated, for example, to student scholarships and rewards for completing internships.

This is not the first cooperation between Polish and Korean universities. The University of Warsaw established contact with KINGS several years ago, and the universities have been exchanging students since 2020. Another participant is Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, which has been cooperating since last year with Chonnam National University and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology.

South Korea is thus strengthening its influence and reputation in Central Europe through initiatives of this kind. Its participation in tenders for the Konin-Pątnów nuclear power plant in Poland and the completion of the Dukovany nuclear power plant can serve as evidence of its success. Also worth noting is the recently signed Czech-Korean memorandum on hydrogen.