BACKGROUND

With their own resources or with the assistance of the IAEA, Members States are getting new technologies and knowledge for applying nuclear techniques for benefit of their people. Any application of the nuclear sciences requires a measuring instrument which needs to be installed, operated, calibrated and maintained. Maintenance is very often a major problem for developing countries due to the lack of support from manufacturers (the local markets are small and local representatives are usually unavailable). In order to alleviate the problem the IAEA has provided support to Member States in their efforts to improve the local manpower and infrastructure. This includes the provision of training for electronics technicians and engineers as topics related to nuclear instrumentation are often not covered by the engineering courses and university curricula. With the advent/development of new technologies like microcontrollers, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) etc., maintenance of modern equipment became increasingly dependent on the manufacturers. Therefore nowadays it is essential to involve the manufacturers as partners in provision of the relevant training. Manufacturers are able to provide a “specialised training” on their equipment but they are neither interested nor prepared to provide a basic training which is often needed prior to a “specialised training” and requires substantial time, dedicated training facilities and financial resources. With support of the IAEA, some laboratories in Member States have acquired satisfactory knowledge and practical skills, and established adequate infrastructure as “Regional Resource Centres” which are now able to transfer basic knowledge in the field of nuclear instrumentation to other countries in the region. In order to homogenize/standardize the training on nuclear instrumentation, and to improve its effectiveness and quality, it is necessary to review the existing training programs from the point of view of the changing needs of Member States and including emerging technologies. The Technical Meeting will be organised to review and update the training programmes for nuclear instrumentation in order to develop a first line maintenance capacity in developing Member States as well as to enhance the “Regional Resource Centres” as provider of the relevant services in the regions.

OBJECTIVES

To review and modify training programmes for nuclear instrumentation to develop a first line maintenance capacity in developing Member States.

To assess the resources and identify modalities for implementation of the updated programmes in support of effective use of nuclear instrumentation in developing Member States.

PARTICIPATION

A person will be eligible to participate only if nominated by the Government of an IAEA Member State (Ministry of Foreign Affairs or National Atomic Energy Authority) or by an Organisation invited to participate. Nomination for participation (Form A) should be received by the IAEA not later than 30th April 2009. The participants should be engineers or scientists with adequate experience in teaching and training in the field of nuclear instrumentation. A contribution from the participant in the form of a short abstract covering his/her work relevant to the objectives of the meeting will be necessary for consideration for participation.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

As a general rule, the IAEA does not pay the costs for attendance to the meeting. However, limited funds may be made available to assist the attendance of selected participants and approved in accordance with the current Agency rules and regulations. Generally, not more than one financial grant will be awarded to a Member State. If Governments wish to apply for financial support on behalf of their nominees, they should address specific requests to the IAEA Scientific Secretary.

MEETING FORMAT

To facilitate proceedings, participants are invited to contribute an oral presentation on subject relevant to the scope and objectives of this meeting. Participants should submit an abstract of their proposed presentation along with their nomination. The official language of the meeting is English. No interpretation will be provided. It is expected that the meeting will start at 9:00 on Monday, 31st August 2009 and conclude by 16:00 on Friday 4th September 2009.

The outputs of discussions will be recorded for possible dissemination to Member States as an IAEA technical publication. Contributors of material to be included in the Agency proceedings are required to assign all copyrights or rights to publish to the Agency. Please complete and sign the Form B and send it to the IAEA Scientific Secretary by post or email. The authors should ensure that material they make available for possible publication by the IAEA does not include copyrighted material or other impediments for reproduction.

LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS

It is the responsibility of all participants to make their own travel arrangements to/from Austria. Detailed information on accommodation, local transport to/from the meeting venue, and other organisational details, will be sent to all designated participants well in advance of the meeting.

VISA

Designated participants who require a visa to enter Austria should submit the necessary application to the nearest diplomatic or consular representative of Austria well in advance of entry. An official letter of invitation will be issued to all designated participants by the IAEA Scientific Secretary.

DEADLINES

• 30th April 2009: Submittal of requests to the IAEA for participation and financial support close
• 31st May 2009: Participants informed of their acceptance of participation and request for financial support.

IAEA SCIENTIFIC SECRETARY