Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN)
The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre is a foundation of public utility under the supervision of the Belgian Secretary of State for Energy. With laboratories in Mol and a registered office in Brussels, it is one of the largest research centres in Belgium. About 700 people work on the development of peaceful industrial and medical applications of ionising radiation and study the impact on man and the environment. Our statutory mission prioritizes research issues that are important to society both today and tomorrow: the safety and efficiency of nuclear installations, solutions for the disposal of radioactive waste, radiation protection, sustainable development, education and training. In order to perform its research programme, to provide services to industry, the medical sector, the government and third parties, and for training purposes, SCK CEN operates several nuclear facilities, like the BR2 material testing reactor, the BR1 graphite-moderated and air-cooled research reactor, the VENUS-F reactor, the first scale model of a subcritical reactor with a total lead core driven by a particle accelerator, the HADES underground research laboratory, situated at a depth of 225 m in the Boom clay-layer, the Laboratory for High and Medium Activity with various hot cells, nuclear analysis and chemical laboratories, etc. With the MYRRHA project SCK CEN investigates the possibility of the GEN IV Pb-Bi ADS systems to become our future main research reactor.
The SCK CEN Academy for Nuclear Science and Technology was launched in 2012 with the aim of combining all education and training activities. In the interests of maintaining a competent workforce in industry, healthcare, research and policy, and of transferring nuclear knowledge to the next generations, the SCK CEN Academy takes it as its mission to provide guidance for young researchers, to organise academic courses and customised training for professionals, to offer policy support with regard to education and training matters, and to care for critical-intellectual capacities for society.
The SCK CEN Academy for Nuclear Science and Technology was launched in 2012 with the aim of combining all education and training activities. In the interests of maintaining a competent workforce in industry, healthcare, research and policy, and of transferring nuclear knowledge to the next generations, the SCK CEN Academy takes it as its mission to provide guidance for young researchers, to organise academic courses and customised training for professionals, to offer policy support with regard to education and training matters, and to care for critical-intellectual capacities for society.