From information to education

In my papers at the previous conferences I brought forth examples of arguments, methods and tools, which the Information Center of OAO 'Mashinostroitelny zavod' resorts to, when dealing with the population of the town of Electrostal, where the OAO 'MSZ' is located. Since the Information Center is visited mainly by pupils and students, we try to inform them during their visits not only of the technique and technologies applied in nuclear industry but of the professions of the specialists working in these spheres. Lately we try another way to communicate the nuclear power to the young generation. At the end of a school year we invite pupils leaving secondary schools, colleges and technical schools, who intend to continue their education at higher technical schools, to meet the leading teachers of the Moscow State Technical University, the faculty of energy and machine-building, preparing the specialists for the enterprises of nuclear power complex of our country. The experience proves that such meetings predetermine the young people's choice of a profession associated with the atomic energy. Our activities resulted in attracting the attention of school-leavers not only from our town but from the neighbour towns of our region as well. We use another kind of communication with higher institutions. The Electrostal Department of the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys under the agreement with our enterprise every year picks out 15-20 students to specialize in the power metallurgy applied in the UO2 pellet production technology used in the nuclear fuel production. This specialization begins when students visit our center, and during 2- or 3-hour lecture they are getting acquainted with the principles of the nuclear technique and nuclear technologies. Generally speaking we have come to a conclusion that in schools and colleges pupils get poor knowledge in the field of nuclear physics and atomic energy. Due to that meetings with them are organized in the form of an open lesson dedicated to a deeper knowledge in this field, demonstrating a lot of posters and dummy nuclear reactors, their fuel assemblies and popular science video-films. It should be noted that there is not enough popular literature and films for schoolchildren related to nuclear power. Considering the fact that the Information center of our OAO 'MSZ' has its own TV-studio, we try to do our best to make Lip a deficiency. But it is desirable that within the frames of the activities of the European Nuclear Society such literature and films should be available. To begin with the database for these materials should be generated. (author)