The participants of the Fifth International Polytechnic Winter School on nuclear energy had spent their final day in Russia at the site of Leningrad NPP. It was the first unique opportunity for students of Ghent (Belgium), Reykjavik (Iceland) universities, and Turin Polytechnic University (Italy) to visit the main control room of operating NPP and VVER-1200 power unit under construction.

“We welcome students from many countries of completely different levels of nuclear power development, and they are always excited to communicate with each other, and enhance their knowledge by new experiences”, the assistance lector of the Thermal Power Department at the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University Ekaterina Sokolova says. “The course of lectures at the school consists from two to three weeks, and each time the most striking note is the visit to Leningrad NPP. Despite the fact that international students come here only once they are always followed by their classmates or colleagues. It is a kind of “chain reaction”; the school not only promotes the internationalization, but also helps the globalization of education in the field of nuclear energy.”


International format of the school organized by Rosatom Corporation in cooperation with Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University allows not only to invite scientists, experts and other leading specialists in the field of nuclear energy, but also to acquaint the foreign public with radiation and environmental aspects of major Russian energy companies’ safety and reliability during the technical tours.

“Unfortunately, my country does not support nuclear energy, but as an expert in radioactive decay materials I am sure that nuclear energy has a future. By this moment four nuclear power plants have been closed in Italy. But I hope that the attitude towards nuclear reactors will change, and we will begin to build new generation power units as those, at Leningrad NPP”, Andrea Bersano from Turin Polytechnic University says.

And the student Sridhar Sanderasan, who arrived from Belgium, where he currently studies, to undergo training at the International Nuclear School, not only sees Kudankulam NPP from his house windows in his homeland, but he is also engaged in engineering design of its next power units’ sites. “What is a nuclear energy in India? Most of it came from Russia!” Sridhar says. “Right now we have reactors of Russian design; they are powerful, but it is still not enough for my country, where nuclear energy accounts for only 2% of the total industrial production of electric energy. In the future I want to be good and useful specialist for my country; the one, who does everything to develop nuclear energy.”

Next International Polytechnic School on nuclear energy is planned for the summer, but the organizers have already begun to make plans to expand its program and to show the participants how the full-scale simulator for the new-generation VVER-1200 units works.

The Leningrad NPP is an affiliate company for Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC. The plant is based in the city of Sosnovy Bor, 40 km to the west from Saint Petersburg at the Gulf of Finland shore. The Leningrad NPP is the first Russian nuclear power plant having RBMK-1000 reactors (uranium-graphite channel-type thermal neutron reactors). The NPP exploits 4 power blocks with the electric capacity of 1000 megawatt each. Also, pursuant to the NPP-2006 project, 1,2 VVER-1200 power blocks included into The State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM long-term plan are being constructed. Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC is the owner and developer of the project. Holding TITAN-2 is the primary contractor. ATOMPROEKT is the general designer.


Leningrad  NPP Information and Public Relations Administration.