Education and training
Traditionally, most of the at the higher level has been provided at the University of Applied Sciences (UAS)/Fachhochschule (FH) sometimes abbreviated as Hochschule or Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften -HAW).
Regarding the Bachelor’s degree, the Technical University of Munich/Technische Universitat München offers a Bachelor’s Course in Nuclear Technology.
Regarding Master’s degrees, there are the following possibilities: the Aachen University of Applied Sciences/Hochschule Aachen teaches the European Master of Science in Nuclear Applications (EMINA); the Technical University of Munich/Technische Universitat München offers a Master’s Course of Study in Nuclear Technology and the RWTH Aachen University/Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule Aachen offers a degree in Nuclear Safety Engineering.
Regarding nuclear training, there are three institutions that provide this. The first of them, the Aachen University of Applied Sciences offers an ERASMUS Intensive Program organized jointly by the universities of the CHERNE Network called Jülich Nuclear Summer School JUNCS.
The courses offered by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology include several within the nuclear field. The Simulator Centre/Simulator Zentrum had over 2000 trainees per year from the 17 nuclear power plants. The Plant and Reactor Safety Company/Gesellschaft für Anlagen-und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) GmbH offers a training course for experts in the field of Nuclear Safety.
Recently, following an agreement between the companies Areva, Axpo AG, EnBw, E.ON Kernkraft HmbH, URENCO Limited and Vattenfall AB the European Nuclear Energy Leadership Academy (ENELA) was founded. This institution, located in Garching, offers a Nuclear Energy Management Program (NEMP) and a Nuclear Energy Leadership Cycle (NELC) which are a one-year course in both technical and non technical skills in the nuclear field.
The Plants and Reactor Safety Company/Gesellschaft für Anlagen-und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) takes part in the European Nuclear Safety Training and Tutoring institute (ENSTTI) which offers a number of training courses.
Human resources and knowledge management
The first commercial nuclear power plant started operating in the 1970s. Germany had 17 nuclear power reactors (Biblis A, Biblis B, Brokdorf, Brunsbuttel, Emsland, Grohnde, Grafenrheinfeld, Gundremmingen B, Gundremmingen C, Isar 1, Isar 2, Krummel, Neckarwestheim 1, Neckarwestheim 2, Philippsburg 1, Philippsburg 2, Unterveser), of which the oldest seven reactors (Biblis A, Biblis B, Brunsbuttel, Isar 1, Neckarwestheim 1, Philippsburg 1, Unterweser) were taken off the grid pending safety inspections following the March catastrophe at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant and they will remain offline permanently. The rest of the nuclear reactor will be phased-out by 2022.
Nuclear human resources
The Alliance for Nuclear Comptence/Kompetenzverbund Kerntechnik under the umbrella of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology/Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie (BMWi) works for the improvement of the German nuclear high education. The German nuclear society/Kerntechnische Gesellschaft e.V, on the other hand, promotes the development of nuclear energy.