14 Women Build Nuclear Expertise and Leadership Through IAEA Programme in Russia

A visit to the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant near Udomlya gave participants a close look at how a major generating station operates, including access to a reactor’s main control room and the turbine halls.

Fourteen women from fourteen countries spent two weeks in Russia exploring the facilities, technologies and professional skills that support careers in the nuclear sector, gaining experience that connected classroom discussions with the work of engineers, researchers and plant operators. Held from 3 to 14 August 2026, the eighth International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Lise Meitner Programme visit took participants to Moscow, Udomlya, Obninsk, Dubna and Elektrostal. The programme brought technical lectures, practical exercises and career development sessions together, giving women already working in nuclear fields a broader understanding of the industry and opportunities to build international professional relationships.

Inside the Facilities That Turn Nuclear Knowledge Into Practice

A visit to the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant near Udomlya gave participants a close look at how a major generating station operates, including access to a reactor's main control room and the turbine halls. The plant has four VVER-1000 reactor units with a combined capacity of 4 GW, offering a setting for discussions about reactor technology, operating practices and nuclear safety culture. At the Elektrostal Fuel Fabrication Plant, which supplies fuel to reactors in Russia and other countries, participants examined fuel production technologies and quality assurance, connecting the manufacturing process with the wider nuclear fuel cycle.

Obninsk offered another perspective through Rosatom Technical Academy's headquarters, located at the site of the world's first nuclear power plant, where simulators and expert-led learning spaces showed how personnel prepare for work in the sector. Discussions covered training, nuclear knowledge management, safety culture and international cooperation in education. Rosatom Technical Academy and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) co-organized the programme's expert lectures, exercises and technical visits, helping participants follow the connections between research infrastructure, advanced reactor systems, fuel fabrication and power plant operation.

Research Visits Open a Window Into Nuclear Science

The second week took the group to JINR in Dubna, a scientific centre whose work spans the fundamental properties of matter, applied research, advanced technologies and the training of nuclear specialists. Participants toured the IBR-2 pulsed fast reactor building and its spectrometer complex, gaining exposure to infrastructure used in nuclear research. At the Nuclotron-based Ion Collider Facility, known as NICA, staff introduced the accelerator complex's main components and its research into dense baryonic matter, explaining potential applications across space technology, microelectronics, life sciences, medicine, nuclear energy and transmutation.

For Vaishali Nayak, a participant from India and Senior Process Engineer at AtkinsRéalis, the experience offered a more connected understanding of an industry whose different disciplines can be difficult to see together in everyday work. She described how sessions with IAEA, Rosatom and JINR experts linked advanced reactor technologies with safety, security, safeguards and the nuclear fuel cycle, strengthening her confidence and expanding her professional network. JINR Vice-Director Latchesar Kostov said the institute's contribution to Russia's first Lise Meitner Programme visit combined access to research infrastructure, practical experience in nuclear methods and strategic project work that participants could adapt to their roles at home.

Building Careers and Connections Across Borders

Leadership sessions gave participants time to consider their own professional direction, with industry experts helping them prepare actionable development plans and leading women in the sector sharing experiences from their careers. A group exercise asked participants to develop a viable national nuclear strategy using specified case parameters, connecting technical knowledge with decisions about a country's nuclear programme. Viktor Mazepov, Director for International Cooperation at Rosatom Technical Academy, an IAEA Collaborating Centre, described mentoring and professional role models as central parts of the experience. Maria Naydenova, the IAEA project manager responsible for its two women-focused programmes, emphasised the value of connecting talent with major institutions and investing in future nuclear leadership.

Named after Austrian-Swedish physicist Lise Meitner, who helped discover nuclear fission, the programme supports women's career development through two-week professional visits hosted by IAEA Member States. Since its launch in 2023, it has welcomed 115 women from 49 countries, with previous visits hosted by Argentina, Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States. It complements the IAEA Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme, which provides scholarships for women pursuing master's degrees in nuclear-related fields and IAEA-facilitated internship opportunities. Both initiatives support greater participation by women and respond to the growing need for a nuclear workforce with diverse expertise.

The next visits are scheduled for France and Austria, hosted by Orano and the IAEA, followed by the programme's first visit to China, hosted by Harbin Engineering University and the China Atomic Energy Authority. A second French visit will be hosted by the ITER Organization and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), with dates and further details to be announced by the IAEA. The programme relies on extra-budgetary funding and in-kind contributions from member countries and other donors, and the agency welcomes support from public and private organizations, academia and civil society.