Graduates Opportunities

The highly prestigious Arkwright Engineering Scholarships “identify, inspire and nurture” the brightest students entering sixth form with an aptitude for engineering, science and design.

The Arkwright charitable trust receives 1,500 requests for scholarships across the UK every year. After a challenging and rigorous process, including assessments and exams, only 350 of the best candidates are selected for the two-year scholarship.

The Arkwright Trust received significant interest from students wanting to work in the nuclear sector. The scheme will be managed by the Nuclear Institute, with partners, including Sellafiedl and NuGen who each funded scholars for a two-year periods from 2014-16 and 2015-17 respectively. Overall the Nuclear Institute has helped to arrange funding for more than 30 Arkwright scholar's since 2014, including nine scholarships supported by Sellafield Ltd, and five by Nugen.

Regional branches of the Nuclear Institute, along with members of the Young Generation Network helped mentor the scholars, who were also given the opportunity to take part in a Summer School in Cumbria, site visits and projects relating to their area of interest.

Commenting on the 2015-17 programme, supported by NuGen, John Robertson, Chair of the Nuclear Institute’s Education and Training Committee, said:

“The Nuclear Institute will mentor the scholars on behalf of sponsoring employers and will arrange various events throughout the two-year programme, including a Nuclear Engineering Summer School to ensure the scholars fully appreciate the opportunities our industry has to offer. We will also track the progress of the scholars through higher education and our measure of success will be when these exceptional young people go on to take up jobs in advanced engineering in the nuclear sector or, even better, within the sponsoring company.”

 NI Arkwright programme (2015-17)

To learn more about Arkwright Trust Scholarships please click here. 

nucleargraduates Programme

nucleargraduates has been designed and created by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and represents a unique opportunity to experience the different aspects of a complex, ever-changing industry.  

nucleargraduates is wholly funded by organisations from across the UK nuclear industry, including Sellafield Ltd, Rolls-Royce, Magnox Ltd and the Environment Agency, Jacobs and the Office for Nuclear Regulation, amongst others. The scheme is also involved with more than 20 other companies and organisations across the industry. 

It is a two-year programme, supported by one of the sponsoring companies and consists of three secondments chosen by the student. Each nucleargraduate is assigned a mentor at the start of the programme, who will help plan a two-year programme to meet each person's development goals. The programme also encourages students to become STEM ambassadors and get involved in outreach programmes and local community projects.

To learn more about the programme, visit nucleargraduates website.

The Nuclear Institute's Young Generation Network is one of the most exciting and best suppported initiatives. alongside our branch and Women in Nuclear (WiNUK) activities. YGN provides support to young professionals (under 37) working across the nuclear industry by offering training, networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities. Through the hard work and dedication of our volunteer base, the YGN is able to run an ever-increasing range of events for young professionals and also undertakes an outreach programme of education and training initiatives.  The YGN also has annual prizes for professionalisma and runs a highly successful annual speaking competiton. 

To find out more, please visit YGN in the Communties section of our website.