The Head of the National and Regional Security Department of UNWE Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov took part in the Annual Meeting of the International Nuclear Security Education Network /INSEN/ which was held in the period 10-12 August in the International Atomic Energy Agency /IAEA/ building in Vienna. In the event participated more than 120 scientists and experts from around the world.

Participants in the Annual Meeting in front of the IAEA building in Vienna

Prof. Dimitrov delivered one of the three presentations in the agenda of the meeting dedicated to educational programmes in the field of nuclear security. He presented the Master's degree programme in Nuclear Security in English launched by the UNWE in October. The Master's programme is for Bulgarian and foreign students and it is developed according to the requirements of INSEN and IAEA with the support of IAEA. The National and Regional Security Department is leading in the training. The lecturers will be from the UNWE, “St. Climent Ohridsky” University of Sofia, Technical University - Sofia, institutes of BAS as well as specialists from the practice, representatives of the University of Tennessee, USA, the Institute of International Studies in Monterey, USA, and King's College - London.

Prof. Dimitrov during his presentation

In the presentation of the Master's degree programme took also part Svetoslav Spasov, Permanent Representative of Bulgaria to the United Nations Office, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe /OSCE/ and other international organizations, Associate Professor at the UNWE.

Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov /on the left/ and Ambassador Svetoslav Spasov /the second person from the right to left/ with participants in the Conference

The Master's programme and the provided materials about the UNWE provoked great interest among the participants in the meeting. Prof. Dimitrov held conversations with the IAEA representatives and participants in the meeting related to the preparation of the Master's degree programme and the upcoming International Seminar on Human Resources Development in Nuclear Security which will be held In the period 1-3 October.

Prof. Dimitrov /in the middle/ at the meeting in the Centre for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in Viennaе

The objective of the Master's degree programme is to prepare highly qualified managerial staff for the nuclear security sector. It consists of 12 compulsory courses providing solid knowledge in fundamental areas such as law, nuclear technology and application, radiation protection as well as profound study of the main areas of nuclear security along with 10 elective courses for acquisition of specialization. The programme combines theoretical and practical classes, includes laboratory exercises, technical visits, simulations, etc.

INSEN is an international network of universities, research and other organizations involved in nuclear security training and education. The network now includes 141 institutions and organizations from 50 countries. UNWE was accepted as a member of INSEN in June 2014 when the Cooperation Agreement with the IAEA in the field of nuclear security education and research was signed during the visit of the Director General of the Agency Yukiya Amano to Bulgaria. Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov, Head of the National and Regional Security Department, was appointed as representative of the UNWE in INSEN.