48 students have already travelled to Korea for nuclear studies. New KINGS President visited BUT

A delegation from the South Korean KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School (KINGS), led by its new President Jerng Dong-Wook, visited Brno University of Technology (BUT) on 17 September. The talks focused on exchange programmes, student feedback and on the possibilities of extending the cooperation into doctoral study and research. The programme also included the ceremonial opening of the Czech-Korean Nuclear Collaboration Centre (NCC).

Talks focused on exchange programmes, student feedback and extending the cooperation. | Author: Václav Koníček

The new KINGS President Jerng Dong-Wook arrived together with Kim Juyoul, Dean of External Relations and coordinator of Czech-Korean nuclear cooperation. At BUT they were welcomed by the university management headed by Rector Ladislav Janíček, and the meeting was also attended by nuclear power experts from the Institute of Electrical Power Engineering of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication (FEEC) under the leadership of Karel Katovský.

The meeting was opened by the symbolic cutting of a ribbon, with which the participants ceremonially inaugurated the already operating Czech-Korean Nuclear Collaboration Centre (NCC) at FEEC, whose role is to provide an umbrella for exchange stays and internships of Czech students in Korea as well as for specialist courses and lectures in the field of nuclear power engineering.

The ceremonial opening of the Czech-Korean Nuclear Collaboration Centre (NCC) was part of the meeting. | Author: Václav Koníček

Nuclear power engineering is one of the main strategic areas of BUT. In 2024, the university opened the two-year Master's study programme Nuclear Power Engineering, which is taught jointly by four faculties – besides FEEC also the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FME), the Faculty of Chemistry (FCH) and the Faculty of Civil Engineering (FCE). The international dimension of the programme is provided precisely by the cooperation with KINGS, which is based on the initial memorandum of understanding signed at the end of 2018 and formally anchored a year later. Cooperation with Korean partners also has a broader framework at BUT – in 2024 the university hosted a forum of universities from the V4 countries and South Korea, focused precisely on education in nuclear power engineering.

Thanks to the cooperation, BUT students travel to South Korea for one-semester or longer stays. Interest in the programme has been growing over the long term – whereas in 2019 two places per semester were reserved for exchange students, today the number of students going abroad for one semester is approaching double figures. Over the entire period of cooperation, a total of 48 student exchanges from three faculties (FEEC, FME and FCH) have taken place.

The KINGS President was accompanied by Kim Juyoul, coordinator of Czech-Korean nuclear cooperation. | Author: Václav Koníček

The experience and impressions of the students were among the main topics of the meeting. Internal research by KINGS records a high level of satisfaction. BUT students in Korea particularly praise the expertise of the teachers and also the practical benefit of the integration courses, such as Korean language tuition or the intercultural programme. Stays at KINGS have long been popular at BUT and have already been described in the past in an interview with Kateřina Koudelková and David Mareček from FEEC or with Dalibor Kojecký and Jakub Stoklasa from FME, who decided to study the entire Master's programme at KINGS.

Exchange programme co-coordinator Peter Mičian has personal experience of a stay at KINGS. | Author: Václav Koníček

Personal experience with the programme is also held by Peter Mičian from the Institute of Electrical Power Engineering at FEEC, one of the participants in the meeting, who went to KINGS during his doctoral studies. As a teacher and co-coordinator of the programme, he now considers such stays to be key within nuclear education.

“Study in South Korea complements the specialist training received at BUT with the experience of a non-European environment, of work in an international team and of a different method of teaching. For students of nuclear disciplines, the opportunity to learn about the Korean nuclear technology APR1000 directly from Korean experts is also very valuable, as this technology will be used for the new nuclear power plant at the Dukovany site. Courses at KINGS are often completed by continuous projects, so students learn to work in a different way from the one they are used to at home. The result is the breadth of perspective that is needed in this field,” comments Mičian.

The exchange in the opposite direction is only just starting – FEEC admitted the first student from KINGS this year. Both universities are interested in deepening the cooperation further. In the future, there is a willingness to extend it to doctoral study, to seek joint research topics, to share the supervision of doctoral theses and possibly to create closer international research groups.

The discussion also turned to the possibility of exchanges of teachers, intensive courses and microcertificates in the field of safety and management for practitioners, cooperation within the Horizon Europe programme, links with the EULiST alliance or the exchange of experience with the use of artificial intelligence in teaching.

KINGS and BUT representatives met at the BUT Rector's Office. | Author: Václav Koníček

The reason for expanding the cooperation is very practical. The development of nuclear power engineering in Czechia and in Europe is increasing the demand for qualified experts, which was emphasised at the meeting by Rector Ladislav Janíček in connection with the completion of the Dukovany plant. BUT is preparing for this role together with other Czech technical universities, and cooperation with KINGS is one of the fundamental pillars of that preparation.

Zdroj: vut.cz/en