Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) designated the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) as an IAEA Collaborating Centre to support Member States on research, development and capacity building in the application of advanced and innovative nuclear technologies.
The signing ceremony for cooperation agreement between IAEA and PIEAS took place at the Agency’s Vienna headquarters.
Pakistani Ambassador Mansoor Ahmad Khan, Rector of the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS ) Dr Nasir majid Mirza and IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Energy alongside IAEA staff attended the signing ceremony.
PIEAS located in Islamabad is one of Pakistan’s leading public research universities in engineering and nuclear technology and a major nuclear research facility of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission.
Deputy Director General IAEA Mikhail Chudakov said “I cannot emphasize enough the importance of education and training for building the capacity of Member States in this field”.
He further said “the Agency encourages scientific studies and cooperation across member states through this network,, making the centres a key IAEA cooperation mechanism”.
This partnership with PIEAS is based on a holistic and multidisciplinary approach in three key areas: modelling and simulations with verification and validation capabilities, experimental nuclear engineering, and education and training. Member States will strengthen their capacities in reactor technology design, nuclear-renewable hybrid energy systems, and reactor numerical modelling and simulations.
Rector of PIEAS Dr Nasir majid Mirza said “We are first and foremost a university, so academics and research and development is at the heart of what we do. It will be rewarding to further build and develop capacity in nuclear technology and non-electric applications of nuclear energy and teach it to those who want to learn.”
Through the Collaborating Centres network, Member States can assist the IAEA by undertaking original research and development and training relating to nuclear science, technologies and their safe and secure applications. With the newly designated Collaborating Centre PIEAS in Pakistan, there are now 43 active Collaborating Centres worldwide, with ongoing discussions in several countries to establish new Centres.