AUGMENTED COOPERATION IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN NUCLEAR AND RADIOCHEMISTRY

Project Information

A-CINCH

Grant agreement ID: 945301

DOI

10.3030/945301

Project closed

EC signature date 19 May 2020

Start date 1 October 2020

End date 30 September 2023

Funded under

• Euratom

Total cost

€ 3 120 856,00

EU contribution

€ 2 490 000,00

Coordinated by

CESKE VYSOKE UCENI TECHNICKE V PRAZE
Czechia

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - A-CINCH (AUGMENTED COOPERATION IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN NUCLEAR AND RADIOCHEMISTRY)

Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2023-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

One of the main concerns in the nuclear sector is a loss of the younger generation's interest for specialized nuclear knowledge and related risk that the current workforce, progressively retiring, couldn't be replaced. Highly educated personnel with very specific knowledge, skills and competences will be still required in the EU, as new builds, development of reactors, long-term operations, shut-down, decommissioning, waste management, radiation protection, and other industrial and medical applications using radionuclides or ionising radiation necessitate qualified staff, where nuclear chemistry plays inevitable role.
One of the challenges in teaching Nuclear and RadioChemistry (NRC) is the extremely time consuming and resource demanding “hands-on” training” (HoT) of how to work safely with the possibly very dangerous radioactive material, without any substitute for such experience. However, modern computer technology offers opportunities for preparing and training for work in a real lab by using sophisticated simulations and virtual environment to an extent (and price) that would be unthinkable few years ago.
The A-CINCH, “Augmented Cooperation in Education and Training in Nuclear and Radiochemistry”, answers the need to counter the deficit in skill-based expertise by adding state-of the art 3D virtual reality (VR) environment to the toolbox of teaching tools developed in the three previous CINCH projects. It is our belief that including a sophisticated VR radiochemistry lab and integrating it with traditional teaching and advanced distance-learning training methods will add to attractiveness of the field for young generation and enhance the learning outcome of the very expensive hands-on training.
The overall A-CINCH project objective is to develop a comprehensive and attractive NRC training and teaching set with the overall goal to increase the number of students and trainees in the field by addressing not only university students or professionals but also the interested public, and more specifically also secondary school students and their teachers, which are crucial for assuring sufficient number of students that will decide for nuclear chemistry career.
To support the objective, the consortium of 17 partners has joined efforts to successfully create an online CINCH HUB gate. It wraps up all previous CINCH results into a user-friendly and easy-to-navigate interface, complete it with newly developed courses and tools, including a highly innovative Virtual Laboratory.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The development of the VR Lab and the implementation of the virtual HoTs were the main objectives of the WP1 and WP2. The final version of the VR-Lab was released. This version includes three VR HoTs: The determination of the K-40half-life, The separation and sample preparation of Po-210 and Pb-210, and The surface decontamination of metals and subsequent waste conditioning. In addition, procedures for entering and exiting the control room can be practised and a 'free exploration mode' is available in which users can explore the laboratory. A VR Lab teaching assistant is available in the form of an interactive quest log and a walkthrough supported by NucWik knowledge base, video lectures, manuals and materials developed for HoT’s. In parallel, an augmented reality app “ARRadiation” presenting ionizing radiation detection and shielding was developed and made available in the AppStore for iOS and GooglePlay for Android.
The main objectives of the WP3 “Valorisation, wrap-ups and maintenance” consist in maintaining and enhancing the existing CINCH tools by updating them with new developments. The MEET-CINCH MOOC editions were kept open for attendances and supported, updated edition was released. Four more CINCH Talks webinars have been organized to animate the MOOC. Fourteen new modules were recorded to upgraded the laboratory videos for “Basic course on analytical radiochemistry”. Three practical HoTs were organized. Three complete Interactive Screen Experiments and the “Pa-234m radionuclide generator” RoboLab have been developed. The NucWik knowledge base has been re-programmed and updated.
WP4 “Developments and revisions” follows the already proven concept of the CINCH projects in development of the new HoT exercises and courses aiming to cover areas receiving attention in the European scientific community and filling the gaps in the NRC curricula in laboratory training. Three HoTs have been developed – HoT in Decontamination and Decommissioning, HoT in Nuclear Forensics, and HoT in Radiopharmaceutical Sciences. All of them are available on the Moodle as ready-made courses for future organization of the HoTs. Also, the NRC EuroMaster diploma/label has been evaluated, revised and diplomas continued to be awarded to students.
The objective of WP5 Nuclear Chemistry Awareness is to develop a distributable and sustainable toolkit of standalone resources to promote and increase awareness of the field of nuclear and radiochemistry. Within the High School Teaching Package aimed for 16-18 year olds, two radiochemistry lessons were prepared. The 5-day residential Summer School for 16y+ students was organized. The NRC MOOC for Citizen was prepared. The “Lab in a Box” toolkit was developed and tested at several fairs. Career Case videos as a motivation material have been recorded and made public.
In the WP6 Dissemination & Networking, the project results were distributed and cooperation with relevant institution and stakeholders have been realized. In the WP7 Mobility & Management, the support from the Travel Fund was realized.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

All the effort put into project aimed at creating the CINCH HUB platform which was successfully achieved. The CINCH HUB is the result of an effort to incorporate the results of a series of CINCH projects into one organized structure, creating a unified environment providing convenient access to all the materials and platforms created. Thus, a unique and unparalleled comprehensive NRC set of toolkits has been put in practice for wide use. On the CINCH HUB, all the above-mentioned tools, materials, applications and knowledge base can be easily found. As such, the CINCH HUB comes with a great ambition to attract more students and interested people either to choose the NRC as their career path or learn more about the importance of the NRC and its benefits to society. To promote CINCH HUB and assure for its sustainability, the CINCH working group has been established under the EuChemS Division of Nuclear and Radiochemistry.
Highlighting substantial results and potential impacts, the VR-Lab is a gaming instrument bringing play into education. Augmented reality application brings simple experiments with ionizing radiation directly on the smartphones of pupils or young students. The set of RoboLabs and ISE allow students to get access to real (or real-like) radiochemical procedures. HoT courses are dedicated for both standard and vocational education and training in radiochemistry. MOOCs are making education and awareness in NRC available to broad auditorium from students to general public, as well as High School packages, Lab-in-a-box sets, CINCH Talks, and topical videos. One of the most important impacts is that all these materials are available for teachers, because together with curiosity of students, they and their way of teaching are the key factor increasing awareness about the field and the number of future radiochemists.

A-CINCH logo