NucNet – South Africa will host the biennial IYNC 2010 in July. Since the first Congress in Slovakia in 2000, the event has spanned three continents and Cape Town will make it four. How has the IYNC project evolved in this time?

Korteweg: Since its inception at the first conference in Bratislava in 2000, IYNC as an organisation has become more professional. In 2004 it became a legal entity, a non-profit organisation incorporated in the US. Since then the organisation has made efforts to become a credible international youth nuclear organisation with credible partners: international organisations and scientific organisations such as the IAEA, the OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency, the European Nuclear Society and the American Nuclear Society. They are important partners in this project. Every biennial congress we have had, we have managed to increase participation. We began in Slovakia before South Korea, Canada and twice in Europe, all of which is unprecedented in trying to distribute the congress as equally as possible geographically to encourage greater participation.

NucNet – IYNC envisages the transfer of knowledge from the current generation of scientists and engineers to the next generation. What do you think has been achieved in its short 10-year history?

Korteweg: In terms of knowledge transfer a lot of that has come down to the congress event itself. We have been trying over the last 10-plus years to make the technical programme as credible as possible, with real peer review of the extracts and papers submitted. The intention isn’t necessarily to bring it on a par with the technical conferences organised by ENS and ANS for example, but close enough so that people can get recognition for their work in different fields. As IYNC has evolved we have been offering many more thematic tracks with various issues – especially now with politics and economics – alongside the more technical issues. The inclusion of economics, communications and public relations has been important.

We have also tried to involve established older nuclear professionals, both in the plenary sessions and in the professional development workshops we organise. The participation of key industry leaders, key academics and so forth in the programme is crucial for nuclear knowledge transfer. One of my priorities as the IYNC network president was also to design a more professional website, providing more information for young nuclear professionals. This information also has to be accessible to secondary school students, whom IYNC has attracted to conferences in the past – in fact we are expecting a good number this July.

NucNet – You mentioned that IYNC enjoys the support of a number of international organisations, notably the IAEA and NEA. How will future IYNC activities engage with new nuclear countries, while fostering ties with established nuclear countries?  

Korteweg: We must focus on developing the network. Over the years this biennial congress has really developed and is well-known around the world, at least with young professionals. But equally, I felt it was time to put a focus on the network side and reach out to countries which are in the infancy of their nuclear programmes. This year we launched a grant programme to give some seed money to develop national and regional organisations, like the ENS working with their young generation. With the grant money we can support their events or new organisations. In addition we now offer travel grants, so that students and young professionals can attend the congresses, starting with IYNC 2010.

NucNet – IYNC has national representatives in nearly 40 countries. Are provisions being made for increased participation and membership of new nuclear countries?

Korteweg: Yes, there has been a lot of interest from Africa of course, which will develop with the congress this July. Australia launched a young generation network last year, trying to encourage greater participation for the Australians. So we are trying to facilitate increased engagement with these national and regional organisations. What we would like to see in future is the biennial congress in places we haven’t before. For years we have tried to cultivate and develop our relationships with professionals in South America, specifically in Brazil and Argentina.

Hopefully in two to four years we will have a congress in Latin America. Mexico would be an excellent host as well. They have a North American young generation involvement already as one of the local chapters.

Asia is also one of the big markets, with most of nuclear new build taking place in China, Japan and South Korea. Countries like Malaysia and Indonesia and those on the subcontinent including India are showing interest. We have national representatives in some of these countries, so it would be nice to bring IYNC back to Asia. With respect to Japan, we had an executive committee meeting in Kyoto, firstly to reactivate Japanese participation in IYNC because their participation has waned in the past couple of years, and it would be good to reengage with them, and maybe they could also apply to host a congress in four to six years.

NucNet – Do you think your activities will be made all the more relevant given an acute global need for new nuclear professionals? Surely this is likely to feature at the conference in July?

Korteweg: Yes, definitely, and that is why I think there is a lot of industry interest in our congresses now on the sponsorship side: to get their name and messages across to potential future industry leaders.

NucNet – This year’s host country has been developing a Climate Change Response Policy, in which nuclear, alongside renewables and industrial efficiency, is set to feature strongly in the transition to a low carbon future. How important was it that South Africa host IYNC 2010?

Korteweg: It was important for IYNC to go to South Africa because following the recent creation of national organisation SAYNPS (South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society), IYNC wanted to recognise their efforts in organising themselves as young nuclear professionals. Hopefully this will have a knock-on effect in Africa. Already it seems a large proportion of the attendees will come from all over Africa, which is good news, and the South African presence will be very strong. The opportunity is there to showcase not only nuclear expertise, but to showcase South Africa itself through cultural and social events on the sidelines of the congress, which of course takes place just after the FIFA World Cup.

NucNet – Can you outline the technical programme which is being set out this year?

Korteweg: Whereas before IYNC had four or five tracks in the congress technical programme, now we offer 10. This is because we ant to be more specific on given themes, but also more inclusive about the attendees. The tracks range from: Nuclear Materials, Chemistry and Structural Integrity; to Reactor Safety; to Nuclear Policies, Economics and Human Resources. As for track 10, Young Generation Activities, this is a good place for all national organisations to present their work in terms of grassroots nuclear initiatives and activities.

NucNet – What other highlights can we expect from the conference? Korteweg: Aside from the technical visits to Koeberg nuclear power plant and national research facilities, we are also organising four professional development workshops. We are very excited about the ‘IYNC Veterans’ workshop. We are inviting people who have made advances in their field and become leaders in their field: industrial, scientific and so forth. We are inviting these people back to talk about how IYNC helped them get to where they are now. People want to know about the value added by IYNC, about how it helps you personally and professionally. But of course the congress is both technical and an opportunity for young people to network and help each other in future business.

NucNet – With respect to the IYNC leadership: what are the upcoming objectives?

Korteweg: IYNC’s leadership recycles itself every two years so during IYNC 2010, the board will convene and elect a new president, treasurer and secretary. We will also vote on the host of IYNC 2012. We have an open call for bids at the moment and we have interest from a number of different continents. Although I won’t be continuing in a leadership position, I will still be involved in IYNC activities and would like to see the network continue to offer more services: launch an e-newsletter, improve its blog and provide more information on the website. The website must be a real nuclear information portal and a place that brings young nuclear professionals together virtually. The congress is a household name but for IYNC, the network itself has a lot of potential and there is still work to be done.

Background:
The International Youth Nuclear Congress 2010 will be held from 12-18 July in Cape Town, South Africa in co-operation with the IAEA, OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and European Nuclear Society.

IYNC Website

IYNC Grants

IYNC on Wikipedia

South African Department of Minerals and Energy, IYNC Announcement