FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
China Is Creating a Nuclear University
June 24 (EIRNS)—Ground will likely be broken this year for China’s first nuclear industry university—very possibly the first in the world—which will be in Tianjin, reported China Daily on June 22. The city government signed a strategic cooperation agreement last week with China National Nuclear Corp.
It will be called China Nuclear Industry University, and will offer occupational training, master’s and doctoral degrees, international exchanges, and research.
Wan Gang, president of the China Institute of Atomic Energy, said that in 2016 CNNC recruited 2,300 graduates, but only 20% of them majored in nuclear fields. The universities can only provide half of the new graduates needed, he said.
China currently has 39 nuclear plants in operation, and about 20 large plants under construction. By 2020, the plan is to have 58 GW of nuclear capacity, with 30 more plants under construction. In the past, it was expected that China would not surpass the U.S. in nuclear energy capacity until at least 2030. But under the current accelerated plan, China could match or exceed the 100 GW in the U.S. earlier, considering the fact that the U.S. is shutting down plants and only building two new ones.
