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The 2025 edition of the Franco-Czech-Slovak Winter School was held from February 10 to 14 at Kočovce Manor in Slovakia. The event brought together a diverse group of 18 students and young professionals from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine and France.
Organized by I2EN as part of its annual winter schools with partners in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, this session addressed an essential aspect of nuclear power plant uptime: assessing the integrity of reactor structural components. More specifically, the workshop dealt with non-destructive techniques and the assessment of thermal ageing of materials.
In a context marked by the challenges of security of electricity supply, global warming and rising energy costs, the extended operation of nuclear power plants plays a strategic role, requiring relatively modest investments. It is also crucial for ensuring a smooth transition to the commissioning of new nuclear power plants. As such, this school offers a privileged opportunity to explore these issues in depth. After a first day at the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava, participants travelled to Kočovce, where they deepened their knowledge of non-destructive techniques through lectures, practical exercises and technical visits.
The participants were delighted with the week, as Zakaria Aghenzour, research engineer at EDF Lab Paris-Saclay, testifies: “Before this winter school, I thought that the application of non-destructive testing in the nuclear field was limited and concerned few techniques. At the end of this week, I realized how widely applicable these tests are in the nuclear industry and how crucial a theoretical and practical understanding of these methods is, as is investment in development to improve these techniques.”
The school was organized in collaboration with the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, the University of Bohemia in Plzeň, the French Embassy in Slovakia, the French Embassy in the Czech Republic and the International Institute for Nuclear Energy (I2EN), as part of the European Commission’s DELISA-LTO project, with the participation of Vuje, Slovenské Elektrárne, a.s., Électricité de France (EDF) and Framatome.
"The scientific and experimental approach to the long-term operation of nuclear facilities has been essential in recent years. International cooperation, such as with the International Institute for Nuclear Energy (I2EN) and its members, is important and stimulating for the younger generation. I hope that new, passionate experts in this field are now being hatched."
