Basic professional training course on nuclear safety - Finland YK4 preface

This publication comprises the abstracts of the YK4 basic professional training course on nuclear safety arranged now for fourth time in Finland. Part of the abstracts has again been updated for this publication. When more renewed abstracts are received during the YK4 course, they are put in the distance learning pages of Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) being thus immediately available for the participants. In the fall of 2002, Finnish organizations re-evaluated the man-power situation and established an organizing committee to develop and organize basic post-graduate professional training of new recruits and staff members; especially for the acute needs of the new NPP project, but also to provide in the long-term a new generation of nuclear experts to replace the present generation which will retire within the next ten years. The organizing committee included representatives of the following organizations: Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority STUK, nuclear power utilities TVO and Fortum, the Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT, the Lappeenranta (LUT) and Helsinki Universities of Technology (TKK), and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, KTM. The committee decided to promptly organize a national training course on nuclear safety based on a similar course developed by the IAEA: the course structure and syllabus are alike. Although part of the course material is based on the IAEA material, it has been adapted to the Finnish conditions, and a large part of the material is completely new. The Finnish application aims to make visible different standpoints of all organizations and the location of the five-week course rotates between different organizations. In the academic year 2006-2007, the course is starting fourth time as YK4. There are again over 100 lecturers and rehearsal, demonstration or excursion leaders. Half of them come from the utilities TVO and Fortum, a quarter from the authority STUK, and the rest from VTT, universities and others. The over 50 participants of YK4 come from these same organisations. The lectures are held in Finnish, and the Finnish slides are distributed to the participants. However, it is useful and even mandatory to know the terms also in English, and therefore the extended abstracts of the lectures are written in English and published in this report. The material is also available in the distance learning website of LUT to look for in advance or in more detail with colours (about 3000 pages). All the YK1 lectures were also videotaped and these videos are placed in the same website as well. There the course is also available to other nuclear post-graduate students. The course belongs to the postgraduate programme of LUT. The YK courses do not have any international participants due to the large domestic need. However, the model of the course is international and there are no obstacles to arrange similar courses in future on a more international basis. The Finnish experiences of the courses were dispensed within the EC association ENEN, the European Nuclear Education network. The organizing committee wishes to give their sincere acknowledgement to all the lecturers and writers of YK courses, who have made possible this valuable effort for the nuclear education and knowledge management in Finland. Kirsi Ruotsalainen from LUT is thanked for her patience and success in the course material realization