Obninsk nuclear forum unites global young leaders

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The fourth "Obninsk NEW 2026" International Youth Forum has concluded in Russia's first science city, Obninsk, located in the Kaluga region. The event focused on training specialists for the global nuclear industry and was held with the support of the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, the government of the Kaluga region, and the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI.

The event brought together more than 700 participants from 85 states, along with high-level delegations from 10 countries. Thousands of students additionally connected to the forum online across 25 partner platforms worldwide.

Speakers and guests highlighted the international status of the forum. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, and World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y Leon addressed the participants with welcoming words. Mikhail Chudakov, deputy director general of the IAEA, Almasadam Satkaliyev, chairman of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Atomic Energy, and Azim Ahmedkhodjaev, director of the Atomic Energy Agency under the Cabinet Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, participated in the high-level plenary session.

The first day of the forum focused on youth-related topics, including the role of youth communities in transforming the nuclear industry, the potential of international cooperation, and the position of Obninsk in shaping a global community of young nuclear leaders. The second part of the program featured plenary and panel sessions with industry experts.

Alexander Alexeev, deputy director of the Science and Integration Department of the ITER Organization, spoke during the session titled "Chain Reaction: How Youth Communities are Changing the Global Nuclear Industry." He emphasized the strategic importance of thermonuclear research and expressed confidence that this direction could become a lifelong career for a generation of talented scientists and engineers.

The forum served as the central event of a 10-day educational marathon for young people pursuing careers in nuclear and related industries. The marathon marked the launch of the first stage of a joint educational program by the Rosatom Corporate Academy and the IAEA, aimed at workforce training for countries newly adopting nuclear power.

Concurrently, the "Obninsk Tech" summer university and the "Invisible Power" international women's camp began their operations.

Following the forum, two key agreements were signed involving Rosatom, Russian Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov, and Governor of the Kaluga region Vladislav Shapsha. The documents are aimed at promoting Russian engineering education in nuclear technologies abroad and further developing the "Obninsk Tech" project, which is implemented with IAEA support.

A separate event featured a meeting between Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev and the second cohort of the Impact Team 2050 international youth council, comprising 13 young leaders from 13 countries. The meeting focused on promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy among youth and supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The forum also included the presentation of the book "Living Principles," a collection of real stories detailing how the provisions of the Youth Declaration of Nuclear Cooperation are implemented in education, science, medicine, and ecology.

"We see our mission in responding to the global challenge of training qualified specialists for the nuclear industry. The development of nuclear energy requires not only technologies but also a strong international system for personnel training. It is exactly this kind of environment—open, modern, and future-oriented—that we are forming in Obninsk," Alexey Likhachev stated.

"Obninsk Tech will become a place where our and foreign students do not just study, but regularly exchange experience and build those horizontal connections that turn a group of people into a team of creators. This is a project of national scale, in which the country's leading universities will participate," rector of NRNU MEPhI Vladimir Shevchenko noted.

According to IAEA forecasts, global nuclear capacity could triple by 2050, creating a sharp demand for thousands of highly qualified specialists.

The "Obninsk Tech" International Scientific and Educational Center for Nuclear Education was designed to address this challenge. By 2030, the project aims to capture up to 20 percent of the global market in this field and train at least 10,000 specialists, half of whom will be foreign students.

During four years of operation, more than 5,000 people from 100 countries have completed the center's programs. Eight new laboratory complexes have been established at the Institute of Nuclear Power Engineering of NRNU MEPhI, where students from 16 states currently undergo practical training.

"Obninsk NEW" serves as an international discussion platform covering key technologies, innovations, and education in the global nuclear industry, attracting young specialists and experts annually.