With the advent of cheap computing power, modelling and simulations represent an increasingly important part of a nuclear engineer’s work. These tools rely on sophisticated models, databases, and algorithms, which the engineer needs to understand, so that the tools are used most efficiently and in relevant applications. Although reactor physics has always been a core discipline in nuclear engineering, computational reactor physics is often taught via advanced courses with fewer students. Due to the decrease of student enrolment in nuclear engineering programs in Europe, maintaining those courses has become increasingly difficult.
As modelling and simulation represent one of the pillars of reactor design, operation and analysis, being able to provide specialized education in reactor physics, modelling, and safety is essential for guaranteeing the safe operation of the existing fleet of reactors and of the future ones.
The GRE@T-PIONEeR project thus aimed at developing and providing specialised and advanced courses in computational and experimental reactor physics at the graduate level (MSc and PhD levels) and post-graduate level, as well as to the staff members working in the nuclear industry. Beyond the technical contents of the courses being developed, the novelty of the project lies with the use of innovative pedagogical methods aimed at promoting student learning. In order to maximise the time students spend with the teachers, flipped classes are offered. The self-paced learning elements rely on handbooks specifically written for the various courses, short videos summarising the key concepts, and online quizzes allowing one to test their understanding of those concepts. These elements need to be taken before attending interactive sessions organised under the close supervision of the teachers. The interactive sessions are based on active learning, during which the students have to implement and use the techniques they learned in hands-on training exercises designed to promote learning. The exercises are computer-based modelling assignments (either implementing algorithms and techniques from scratch or using already existing nuclear simulation tools) and hands-on training sessions on research reactors. In addition to the flipped classroom pedagogy, most of the interactive sessions are offered in a hybrid format: the students can decide to attend the interactive sessions either on-site or online. The sessions are also given in a condensed format. Combined with the hybrid set-up, the courses are very well suited for lifelong learning.
During the project, nine different courses were developed and offered across two consecutive academic years. In total, 851 persons applied for a GRE@T-PIONEeR course, out of which 716 persons were accepted to the courses. Among those, 411 persons qualified to receive a certificate for successfully passing the courses.
