In April, the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) hosted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) School for Nuclear Knowledge Management (NKM). The one-week school is aimed at young professionals working in roles relevant to the management of nuclear knowledge and focuses on specialized education and training in the development and implementation of nuclear knowledge management programs in nuclear science and technology organizations. The school was led by IAEA experts, John Roberts and Gary Cairns, as well as local expert John Crenshaw, who provided real-life examples, best practices, and lessons learned from the perspective of nuclear organizations in the US.
Participants in the School included eighteen professionals from Argentina, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Nigeria, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Two NSSPI professional staff members also participated in the course.
The NKM School explored various dimensions of nuclear knowledge management, such as processes and tools, challenges and benefits, the influence of organizational culture, the relationship with human resource development, and the use of information technology for knowledge preservation and sharing.
To supplement the content of the NKM School, participants were tasked with a group project in which they worked together to apply their knowledge in developing a proposal of an NKM plan for a theoretical organization.
According to one participant, “The main strength of the school were the topics covered, the practical exercises used to reinforce the information given during lectures, and the diverse background of the participants. Through the group project, I got important lessons in managing people from different backgrounds, goals, and work cultures.”