Nuclear Energy (EN)

This training programme is intended to meet the needs arising from the considerable renewed interest in nuclear energy at the international level. In France alone, the demand for new engineers and managers from the nuclear industry will be on the order of 1000 per year, at least, over the next ten years.

Pedagogy

The Nuclear Energy specialized curriculum—a professionalizing programme, which is also research-oriented to a certain extent—is jointly offered with the University of Paris-Sud XI, ParisTech, Supélec and INSTN. The curriculum’s pedagogical objectives include providing an introduction to multidisciplinary methodological research (for one of the five specializations) and a preparation for careers in large industrial corporations.
The detailed objectives of the Nuclear Energy specialization are as follows:

• Nuclear engineering: acquiring in-depth knowledge of reactor physics, the use of existing tools, the development and installation of third-generation nuclear reactors, and the design and development of future systems.
• Nuclear plant design: acquiring in-depth knowledge of the field of nuclear reactor systems and equipment design and construction.
• Operations: learning how to manage the operation and maintenance of a nuclear plant.
• Fuel cycle: learning the chemistry relevant to the various stages of the fuel cycle, with an emphasis on separation-transmutation.
• Decommissioning and waste management: developing skills related to nuclear plant decommissioning and to waste management that protects natural and human environments.

Strengths

École Centrale Paris is heavily involved in meeting the pressing demand of the nuclear industry for specific expertise by training a significant number of managers, especially foreign, in nuclear technologies. The programme has a strong international orientation, both in its recruitment of foreign students and in its training, which is conducted entirely in English. This Master’s programme is open to, and specifically designed for, foreign students from countries with strong potential demand for nuclear expertise, and from countries where the companies who support this training are established for long-term nuclear operations. The presence of these companies abroad make them potential employers of the foreign students enrolled in the programme.

Programme

The distinctive aspect of this Master’s is to offer training that covers the full range of domains related to nuclear energy.

The first year provides students with essential skills in:

• Nuclear physics
• Material science
• Energy engineering
• Project management
• Electrical engineering
• Elective: Instrumentation and Control Systems
• Neutronics
• Languages and cultures
• Fluid mechanics & heat transfer
• Process engineering
• Solution chemistry
• Energy economics

The second year offers five research and professional specializations:

• Nuclear engineering
• Nuclear installation design
• Installation operation
• Nuclear fuel cycle (engineering and radiochemistry)
• Decommissioning and waste management