Prof. Dr. Svetoslav Spasov Organized a Visit for Students from the University’s Master’s Programme in Nuclear Security to the Nuclear Regulatory Agency

Students from the Master’s programme in Economics of Defense and Security with specialization Nuclear Security at the UNWE visited the Bulgarian Nuclear Regulatory Agency /BNRA/. The visit was organized by the Head of the Master`s programme Prof. Dr. Svetoslav Spasov, Director of the Center for Nuclear Security Support, as part of the coursework on the security of nuclear and other radioactive materials during transport.

The guests were welcomed by Mr. Atanas Dobrev, Director of the International Cooperation Directorate at the Bulgarian Nuclear Regulatory Agency /BNRA/, who greeted the students and university lecturers and briefly outlined the agency’s activities. In his remarks, he highlighted UNWE’s potential in the field of nuclear security and praised the university for its international recognition through its designation as a partner center of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). With this status, the UNWE ranks among the few academic institutions in the world that have received such recognition in fact, the UNWE is the fourth such center in Europe and the twelfth globally.

The Head of the Master’s programme Prof. Dr. Svetoslav Spasov expressed thankfulness to Atanas Dobrev and the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Agency Tsanko Bachiysky, for their hospitality. He outlined the active cooperation between the UNWE and the Nuclear Regulatory Agency, including the university’s participation in the implementation of the Three-Year Action Plan under the National Strategy for Human Resources Development in the Nuclear Sector for the period 2026–2028. Prof. Spasov emphasized that the Master’s programme continues to develop and prepare highly qualified specialists, with many of its graduates subsequently finding professional fulfillment in institutions and organizations working in the field of nuclear security in their respective countries, while some of them also begin careers at the International Atomic Energy Agency.

During the visit Dr. Ivaylo Ivanov, who teaches the course Methods and Instruments for Measuring Nuclear and Other Radioactive Materials in the Master’s programme in Nuclear Security, held a presentation in which he informed the students about the main functions, powers and activities of the Nuclear Regulatory Agency. Then Lyudmila Simeonova, Head of the Emergency Planning and Preparedness Division within the Nuclear Safety Directorate General at the BNRA, together with experts from the Division explained to the students the Agency’s specialized operational and technical sector, including the surveillance, information and computer systems used to control and monitor nuclear safety and security.

The visit gave the students the opportunity to get a closer look at the practical aspects of nuclear regulation and to acquire a clearer understanding of the role of the national regulatory authority in the system for ensuring nuclear safety and security.