On Thursday 16 May 2019, over 450 nuclear professionals from over 50 different organisations gathered at the Principal Hotel in Manchester city centre to attend the 72nd Annual Dinner of the Nuclear Institute North West (NI NW) Branch.
Guest of Honour was Dr. Mina Golshan, Deputy Chief Inspector & Director for the Sellafield, Decommissioning, Fuel & Waste Division at the Office for Nuclear Regulation. Ann Daniels, one of Britain’s leading Polar Explorers, was the after-dinner speaker.
Prior to the start of the evening, a drinks reception was held in the Whitworth Suite of the hotel, allowing time for colleagues and friends to mingle and catch up on recent events.
Formal proceedings were opened by NI NW Branch Co-Chairs Melissa Loyley & Donna Causon, who welcomed attendees and introduced the top table guests.
Pictured right: Co Chairs Melissa Loyley & Donna Causon with past chair Monica Mwanje
The top table guests in attendance were: Dr Mina Golshan (ONR), Ann Daniels (Polar Explorer) Brian Nixon (Managing Director, UK Fuel Operations, Westinghouse), James Cowell (Chief Nuclear Officer & Head of Compliance – Capenhurst Site, Urenco), Dr Tim Stone (Chair of Nuclear Industry Association) and John Clarke (President of the Nuclear Institute).
During her keynote address, Dr Mina Golshan detailed some of the challenges that the UK nuclear industry has faced recently and outlined some of the forthcoming challenges for the industry. She provided an insight into the workings of the Office for Nuclear Regulation and how it works with the nuclear industry to resolve the challenges presented.
Pictured: Dr. Mina Golshan during her keynote address.
After dinner, Ann Daniels, provided an inspirational and motivational talk. Drawing on her career and life experiences, Ann spoke to attendees about the many challenges she’s had during her career and despite several set backs, including colleague illness and weather conditions preventing further progress, she has still managed to obtain her goals. Adding some humour into the presentation, she detailed how she was stalked by a polar bear for several days and how this resonated with her and give her the strength to continue her trek in the harshest conditions. Her presentation was well received by the room, with plenty of people making their way to talk to her about her experiences at the end of the formal part of the evening.
Pictured: Ann Daniels during her presentation
The awards portion of the evening commenced after Ann’s talk. Graduates from the NTEC programme were honoured, alongside the top 3 finalists from the 2019 North West branch heat of the YGN Speaking Competition.
After the awards, the charity raffle was drawn by Melissa Loyley and Donna Causon. The raffle was a great success raising more than £3,200 for Papyrus. The NI NW branch would like to thank all the organisations that donated prizes and all who bought raffle tickets.
Upon close of the formal part of the evening, guests enjoyed further networking opportunities in the ballroom or headed to the exclusive after party where live music was provided by Jukebox Band.
The NI NW Branch would like to thank: Cavendish Nuclear, Abbott Risk Consulting, North West Projects, NTEC, RPS and Westinghouse for their sponsorship of the 2019 Annual Dinner.
