‘We look to the future’: U of S hosts nuclear energy intensive program

WATCH: Fifty students will spend the next two weeks learning about nuclear energy from industry leaders at the University of Saskatchewan.

Fifty students will spend the next two weeks learning about nuclear energy from international industry leaders at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S).

“I’m hoping to understand better some of the barriers to the nuclear industry, what things we could overcome to help them succeed more, and the opportunity to get such a good network of people here at the school and stay in touch and see where that takes us in the future,” Alex Nilson, one of the students, said.

The Canadian Nuclear Energy Management School is run in partnership with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and this is the first time it has been hosted in Western Canada.

“We need a very developed workforce, and this nuclear energy management school allows us to get to that point by having people exposed to various aspects of our nuclear energy production, from mining to technology and greater management in the province,” Baljit Singh, vice president of research at the U of S, said.

More than 200 applicants applied to the program, and the admissions team carefully narrowed it down to 50 for the two-week intensive.

“That was a very difficult task. In fact, the cohort we have, I’m very happy, and they represent good cross-sections of industry regions,” Jafar Soltan, associate dean of admissions and partnerships at the U of S, said.

The program has representation from various sectors of the energy industry from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, Ontario, and the Northwest Territories.

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More than 30 of the students call Saskatchewan home, and Erica Anaquod is one of them.

“I’m looking to learn more about nuclear energy and how it’s going to run internationally. I’m excited for Saskatchewan and how we’re going to produce,” Anaquod said.

While learning about nuclear energy is the main focus of the program, the exchange of knowledge between participants is something many students are looking forward to.

“I’m an Indigenous person, and I’m really excited to see collaboration between Indigenous people and the nuclear sector. I think it’s essential for Indigenous people and our culture, as Mother Earth is where we live and breathe. So, I’m hoping that I can introduce a lot of Indigenous backgrounds to the other participants here to give them a point of view from this perspective,” Anaquod said.

Currently, Saskatchewan does not use any nuclear energy in its electricity. This means that the province is in the process of creating laws and regulations around the resource, also known as a greenfield jurisdiction. This is something the students will take some time to learn about, and SaskPower CEO Rupen Pandya says it will be important information moving forward.

“This is important because it builds capacity in Saskatchewan as we look to the future, as SaskPower looks to small modular reactors and beyond to help power the future. Helping build that knowledge and expertise right in the province will be critical to our success,” Pandya said.

As this is the first time a Western province has hosted the program, Pandya is hopeful that Saskatchewan’s uranium production might one day come full circle in the province.

“As we think about the future, I want to think about where Saskatchewan is home to some of the highest-grade uranium deposits. Overall, it’s always been a dream to see that energy from the mining of uranium to production of power completed here in Saskatchewan,” Pandya said.

The environmental factor is also an important aspect of the program. As Canada works toward its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, this education and research is expected to help with that goal.

“The world cannot get to net zero without having healthy competition from the nuclear sector. Saskatchewan’s role has been having some of the highest-grade nuclear deposits, which is very critical to really exploit those deposits,” Singh said.

For the students, that environmental aspect is something that sparks excitement.

“We need sources of energy that are big sources of energy, that are more consistent and reliable, that we have no emissions. Supplementing things with solar and wind is really good, but it’s not always available, and there’s smaller efficiency on it. So, I think getting bigger sources like nuclear is a really good step forward,” Nilson said.