Education and research under the aspect of public perception in Germany

First the current political boundary conditions of Education, Research and development in nuclear technology in Germany are outlined. The situation of nuclear energy in Germany is characterized by the phase-out policy pursued by the red/green government, which means that the last German nuclear power plant will run until about 2022. The consequences of the re-election of the red/green government in October 2002 and the actions taken to nevertheless maintain the nuclear competence needed in Germany are shown. In the second part, the role of the 'Alliance for Competence in Nuclear Technology' in bundling the current publicly funded research and teaching activities is explained. One of the major tasks of the Alliance for Competence in Nuclear Technology is to determine trends of future research and teaching and trends with respect to the number of jobs that will be offered in the nuclear field in the future. The results of the surveys made are presented. The Alliance has also established a regional 'adoption concept' in cooperation with German utilities, manufacturers, and nuclear technology training and research institutions. The presentation is concluded by the fact that periods of up to ten years are needed to establish new competence in nuclear technology at the universities. (author)