"On 14th July, Rutherford Appleton Laboratories held their annual ‘Engineering Your Future’ event. This careers event is to help students in Year 12 to find out more about different careers available to them if they choose to progress with work or study in the field of engineering. The Nuclear Institute Central England Branch have supported this event for a number of years and despite the current circumstances, this year was no different with our Events Manager, David Nixon of RWM, and our Branch Secretary, Anthony Shaw of Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, joining a virtual panel of eight others from STFC Apprentices, IMechE, Satellite Applications Catapult , EDT and RAF Benson for a careers Q and A with an audience of over 200.
David provided a brief canter through his education history, from gaining A-levels in Chemistry, Biology and Geography, to gaining a BSc with 1st Class Honours in Chemistry followed by a PhD in Chemistry. David then described how he took on a voluntary role for a sustainable charity whilst writing his PhD thesis until he got a role with Grundon Waste Management Ltd. selling the capacity to deal with VLLW, until he was approached (from someone he met in the voluntary role) to apply for a position as a Materials Scientist for Amec and the role for his current employer Radioactive Waste Management Ltd., and its remit in planning, design and building a geological disposal facility for her activity radioactive waste. David closed his session by recognising the diversity within the nuclear industry and the need for a wide range of professions and that the Nuclear Institute offered a great foundation to understanding the industry.
Anthony gave an overview of the work undertaken at UKAEA regarding fusion, as well as its relevance to the energy sector and nuclear power. Then detailing his role at UKAEA, working as a diagnostic physicist which requires a wide variety of different work, with plenty of hardware, software and data analysis, as well as the potential to get involved in experiments. There are plenty of routes into work at UKAEA, with apprenticeship and graduate schemes, as well as direct entry and PhDs alongside work experience for younger students. Questions from the audience included discussion of the close links between UKAEA and ITER in Cadarache, France, as well as the timescales for fusion in the future.
NI CEB considers attendance at events such as this as a key component to fulfil its 'charitable obligations'.
Mehdi Askarieh – Chairman of Central England Branch"