11月25日至27日，作为该进行中倡议的一部分，来自该地区七个国家的八名专家在原子能机构维也纳总部聚集一堂，制订在高等教育中拓展、加强和推广核科学技术的新战略。
2018年1月，在一个进行中的技术合作（技合）项目框架内，原子能机构动员数百位教师和学术专家做出努力，以支持一项将覆盖亚洲及太平洋地区至少一百万中学生的核教育工具和资源开发倡议。11月25日至27日，作为该进行中倡议的一部分，来自该地区七个国家的八名专家在原子能机构维也纳总部聚集一堂，制订在高等教育中拓展、加强和推广核科学技术的新战略。
欲了解原高中项目的影响，见此图片报道。
核科学对发展、改善健康和经济繁荣的贡献取决于投身这一领域的专业人员。通过鼓励学生们认识到核技术有潜力改变和丰富数百万人的生活，可以最大限度地发挥核部门的效益。此倡议旨在启迪处于成长阶段的学生。
组织这次为期三天的会议是为了制订新战略，以便其经部署后用于精简现有科学教育课程中以核为重点的模块。
技术合作司亚洲及太平洋处处长简·赫拉尔多-阿瓦亚女士在开幕词中强调了在各级教育中不断让学生和教师参与以加强该地区核科学的潜在贡献的重要性。赫拉尔多-阿瓦亚说：“今天的年轻一代将成为明天的科学家和专家，因此，必须继续支持成员国并满足其学术计划的要求，以便让未来的核专业人员为其未来的工作和责任作好准备。”
会议开幕词之后，原子能机构辐射处理专家Sunil Sabharwal专题介绍了该项目的历史，强调该项目如何在接触学生和激发他们对核科学的兴趣方面取得了超乎预期的成果。他说：“我相信，到2021年，参与该项目的学生不仅将达到一百万，而且会远远超过那一数字。现在，原子能机构的外联活动已在中学一级打下了基础，有必要拓展到高等教育一级的学生中。这将确保该项目所创造的势头产生持久的结果。”
随后，来自亚洲及太平洋地区各大学的专家发言阐述了各自国家大学核教育课程的现状和未来宏图。
这些发言之后，出席会议的专家展开了全面讨论，确定了成员国中学后核教育方案的共同点，并突出强调了学术机构之间合作的潜在机会。根据讨论，专家们同意就各成员国的相关最佳实践、经验和教训拟订一份清单，从而汇编成册予以传播，作为整个地区高校教师的参考文件。面向高校教师的这项新资源将补充《中学教师和学生用核科学技术资源汇编》，后者系2016年推出，旨在帮助教师组织新的课内和课外活动，从而以更启迪思考、易于理解的方式教授科学。
与会者商定了制订在高等教育中引入和加强核科学技术的最恰当战略的综合路线图，以及2020年4月即将在清华大学举办国际讲习班的行动计划，该讲习班将侧重于完善和加强高等教育中核学科范围的地区合作。
RAS0079号项目，“对中学生和理科教师进行核科学技术教育”
In her opening remarks, Jane Gerardo-Abaya, Director of the Technical Cooperation Division for Asia and the Pacific, highlighted the importance of continuously engaging with both students and teachers—at all levels of education—in order to enhance the potential contribution of nuclear science in the region. “The young generation of today will become the future scientists and experts of tomorrow,” Gerardo-Abaya said. “As such, it is essential to continue supporting Member States and meeting the requirements of their scholastic programmes in order to prepare would-be nuclear professionals for their future work and responsibilities.”
The meeting’s opening remarks were followed by a presentation on the history of the project by Sunil Sabharwal, an IAEA Radiation Processing Expert, who highlighted how the project has exceeded expectations in reaching students and spurring their interest in nuclear science. “I am confident that the project will not only reach one million students by 2021, but will go far beyond that number. Now, having laid the groundwork at the secondary level, it is important to expand the IAEA’s outreach to students at the tertiary level. This will ensure that the momentum created by the project has lasting results,” he said.
Subsequently, experts from universities in the Asia and the Pacific Region delivered presentations which clarified the current state and future ambitions of nuclear education programmes at universities in their countries.
Following their presentations, the attending experts engaged in a comprehensive discussion which identified commonalities in Member State approaches to post-secondary nuclear education, highlighting potential opportunities for cooperation between academic institutions. On the basis of their discussions, the experts agreed to compile a list of the relevant best practices, experiences and lessons learned in their respective Member States, in order to develop and disseminate a compendium which may act as a reference document for tertiary school teachers throughout the region. This new resource for third level educators will complement the Compendium of Resources on Nuclear Science and Technology for Secondary School Teachers and Students, which was launched in 2016 to help teachers organize new classroom and after-school activities which can be used to teach science in a more thought-provoking and easy-to-understand manner.
Participants agreed to a comprehensive roadmap that establishes the most appropriate strategies for the introduction and enhancement of nuclear science and technology at the tertiary level, along with an action plan for an upcoming international workshop in April 2020 at Tsinghua University, which will focus on regional collaboration to improve and enhance the coverage of nuclear subjects in tertiary education.
[1] RAS0079, ‘Educating Secondary Students and Science Teachers on Nuclear Science and Technology’