WP1 Project coordination

Objectives

The first WP of ENETRAP III deals with the project coordination, defining and monitoring the succes criteria of the project and overlooking the overall progress of the project according to the Annex I Description of Work.

Description of Work

This WP typically involves tasks such as organising the kick-off meeting, establishing a Steering Committee (SC) (normally consisting of one representative of the WP leaders; the SC will assist the Coordinator with the follow-up of the project, will propose improvements for an efficient and effective carrying out of the project and will guarantee information exchange between the project participants), coordinating the SC and Project Committee (PC) meetings and producing all project reporting such as

• Preparing the agenda of the kick-off, SC meetings and PC meetings
• Writing the minutes of the kick-off, SC meetings and PC meetings
• Setting up a Consortium Agreement Writing the Project Presentation
• Writing the Communication Action Plan
• Writing the periodic and final project reports, based on the input from the WP leaders of ENETRAP III
• Report on the distribution of the Community financial contribution between beneficiaries

The project coordination will also establish and monitor the success criteria for the project and will take initiatives to guarantee the economic sustainability of the ENETRAP III initiatives through EUTERP. Within this WP1, also a project website will be set up within three months after the start of the project.

WP2 Organisation of “think-tank” activities and establishment of partnerships ensuring feedback from stakeholders

Objectives

The objective of WP2 is

• to closely involve regulatory authorities who are supposed to provide the legal framework for implementing the roles and functions of RPE, RPO and MPE as well as the appropriate E&T requirements of the Euratom Basic Safety Standards.
• to facilitate cooperation and exchange of information with technology and radiation research platforms, such as SNETP (nuclear safety), IG-DTP (geological disposal) and MELODI (low dose research), and other associations, networks and institutes, with respect to E&T. Such cooperation should help to ensure consistent and comparable approaches to radiation protection training activities, increase the adequacy and efficiency of the E&T content and delivery, and may promote and facilitate exchange of experts in several nuclear domains that can give added value to the courses.

Description of Work

Radiation protection is a science that forms the basis for the safe use of radiation. It is therefore not limited to specific fields such as nuclear engineering, geological disposal or low dose research, but is important in all areas where ionising radiation is used. In order to protect the health of all workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionising radiation, the Council of the European Union has published the so called Euratom Basic Safety Standards (BSS). The revised BSS, Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom of December 5 2013, published on January 17 2014, clearly addresses three specific roles in radiation protection: the RPE, RPO and MPE.

ENETRAP III will focus on the first two, without overlooking the MPE who obviously shows similar E&T requirements. It is clear that education and training of RPE, RPO and MPE forms an indispensable element that is embedded in an important legal framework. When dealing with E&T matters in RP, regulatory authorities consequently are one of the major stakeholders that can on the one hand make use of the research results of ENETRAP III and on the other hand give valuable related feedback.

In this WP we aim at setting up an end-users and consultancy group (CG), with participation from all relevant stakeholders, and we aim at the introduction of formal Q&A mechanisms in order to receive structured input and feedback from the CG to the project aims and deliverables.

Invitees to the CG:

In WP2, a Regulatory and End-users Consultancy Group (CG) will be established, of which HERCA, the art.31 Expert Group and EC DG ENEREGY will be important members. First contacts with these groups were are already made in the ENETRAP II project and the topic of this project is of great interest to these regulatory groups. Meanwhile HERCA has elaborated an E&T task force and is interested in further collaboration, as expressed in the letter of interest (see annex). Also EC DG ENERGY is interested in publishing guidance for the implmentation of E&T for RPE and RPO. Furthermore, ENETRAP III will invite the three main technical Platforms to the CG. The EC technology and research Platforms, SNETP, IG-DTP and MELODI, all have an interest in building and maintaining competent workforces in their specific domains. Competence in radiation protection is a cross-cutting issue for all three platforms. Cooperation and information exchange between ENETRAP III and the Platforms can therefore be beneficial for all parties and the pioneering results of ENETRAP III can be made available and serve as examples for the approaches in other nuclear and radiation research domains.

Also EUTERP and EFOMP, which each have a solid understanding of the E&T issues in radiation protection for RPO and RPE on the one hand and for MPE in the medical area on the other hand, will contribute to ENETRAP III.

In addition, the CG will be open to other relevant stakeholders such as the coordinators of the 7FP E&T projects (like EUTEMPE-RX, PETRUS III, NUSHARE, etc.), representatives from organisations that deal with specific domains in radiation protection, such as EAN (European Alara Network), NERIS (), EURADOS (), etc., representatives from organisations dealing with HR and E&T in nuclear such as EHRO-N, the ECVET teams and the ENEN Association, and stakeholders from industry (for example via FORATOM and ENS).

To give an international character to the project results, IRPA and IAEA will contribute to the CG (see letter of interest in attachment), and other organisation such as for example OECD/NEA and the ABHP (American Board of Heath Physics) will be invited.

Input from all these stakeholders should allow ENETRAP III to organise “think tank” activities with the aim to anticipate future training needs and to support policies for continuous improvement of nuclear radiation protection and safety culture. The CG members will have access to the project interim results. The CG meetings will be held in combination with the annual PC meetings and the project coordinator will set up regular communication with the CG members via e-mail and website.

Since conferences and workshops form ideal instruments for the dissemination of, and discussions about the project results, ENETRAP III will organise a dedicated CG/stakeholder meeting/workshop. The workshop will be set up as a two-way information exchange between the Consortium and the CG members and other relevant stakeholders.

WP3 Establishment of three specialized training modules for RPE and implementation of pilot sessions

Objectives

The objective of this WP is to further develop the ENETRAP reference training scheme for RPE and expand it with specialized modules that have not yet been developed before (these are modules for the RPE working in the medical area, in NPP and in geological disposal). The modules will be developed using the ECVET approaches; learning outcomes will be defined in terms of knowledge, skills and competences. Also, pilot sessions will be organised. The modules will be developed and organised in close collaboration with the relevant stakeholders. Further, it will be explored how ENETRAP III can reach out to groups dealing with topics like emergency planning and decommissioning, which have a clear involvement with radiation protection and which will gain importance because of future developments.

Description of Work

Building further on what has been achieved already, this WP will develop three new training modules, which will serve as specialized modules in the ENETRAP training scheme for RPEs. They will be complementary to the three week basic course for RPE which was developed and implemented under ENETRAP II. Thus a more complete set of Common Basis and Optional Training Modules for RPE will be available for the Member States.

The modules will be taught in English, typical duration will be about one week (on-the-job training excluded). The development of the modules will be based on the ECVET principles. Learning outcomes will be determined, and the proposed course material will be developed in such a way that knowledge, skills and competences required by an RPE working in the given field are addressed. Endorsement from HERCA, prior to the organisation of the pilot sessions, will be strived for. This will give an added value to the training schemes and will facilitate both the initial recognition process of the capacity to act as RPE, and the mutual recognition process. The effectiveness of the course and the endorsement by the regulatory authority will be reported in order to allow close feedback to the other WPs.

The new topics proposed are situated in the field of radiation protection in geological disposal, in NPP, and in the medical field. In addition to the fact that there currently do not exist training modules specifically dedicated to RPEs in these fields, this choice also has important additional significances: (i) the geological disposal area is more and more becoming an important stakeholder in radiation protection E&T, (ii) new NPPs under construction or planned have a need for high-level RPEs in order to guarantee a safe operation, and (iii) the different roles of MPE and RPE in the medical area can be made more clear and the required competences can be explained based on the understanding that an individual can hold both roles simultaneously provided he/she has the required competences of both, plus the understanding that there are instances of medical practices (e.g. interventional radiology) in which both roles are required.

Further, it will be explored how ENETRAP III can reach out to groups dealing with topics like emergency planning and decommissioning, which have a clear involvement with radiation protection and which will gain importance because of future developments. Modules or course content developed within ENERAP III might be of use for the education or training of personnel dealing with these specific topics.

It is the aim of this WP to test the feasibility of the whole European reference training scheme in radiation protection with the complete ECVET approach and including recognition procedures and acceptance by stakeholders. In parallel to the initiative for RPE training, also RPO training will be provided and tested according to the guidance made in ENETRAP II in the area of medical and NPP applications.

Initiatives to spread the pioneering work also beyond the European borders (for example in collaboration with the IAEA) will complete the work in WP3. This will contribute to the visibility of important results of European initiatives in the global E&T community. It is our intention that newcomers in the nuclear field can benefit from the work already performed. 

WP4 Development of a train-the-trainer (TTT) strategy and organisation of a TTT training event

Objectives

It is the objective of the WP to develop a train-the-trainer strategy that will, along with other aspects, promote the ECVET concept. In this way ENETRAP III aims for a sustainable implementation of the most recent didactic methods in a harmonized way throughout current and future training courses in radiation protection (and other nuclear topics), facilitating good practices in training course development and implementation. Pilot sessions will be organised and evaluated. The ENEN Association will be addressed to recognise the course within their system and the course will be made available to training providers in other domains such as nuclear engineering, geological disposal and low dose research.

Description of Work

Until now, E&T projects focused mainly on the development of technical and scientific modules related to the required nuclear knowledge and skills. Little consideration has been given to those providing training but, clearly, one of the key factors in ensuring qualitative high-level training is the suitability of providers. Also for them, the appropriate knowledge, skills and competences need to be available and they need to have a high-level understanding of the scientific and technical basis they are training, but also an insight in the context and a sense for the social and philosophical aspects of the situation, and appropriate didactic skills. An understanding of the existing credit and qualification systems like ECTS, EQF, EQAVET and ECVET is also very relevant. In addition, they must be able to develop "learning outcomes" for all new topics they will teach. Last but not least, the developments will give attention to the challenges involved in teaching difficult scientific and technical topics that have a significant societal impact and for which relevant ethical issues can be raised.

It is the objective of this work package to develop a strategy for the development of trainers - a “train-the-trainers (TTT)” approach - that will, along with other aspects, promote the ECVET concept. In this way ENETRAP III aims for a sustainable implementation of the most recent didactic methods in a harmonized way throughout current and future training courses in radiation protection (and other nuclear topics), facilitating good practices in training course development and implementation. Particular emphasis will be made on the use of teaching strategies adapted to different teaching modalities (from face-to-face to b-learning). Using a Learning Management System for the management of training resources will be presented. In addition, participants will learn how to create and manage multimedia resources suitable for courses that they teach.

After developing the strategy, which is envisaged to include the identification of trainer pre-requisites, the development of the content of a specific TTT package/event and associated training material will be done, and one pilot event will be organised of which the effectiveness will be evaluated. When needed, the content will be revised taking into account the feedback received from the pilot session. To obtain the highest quality, ENETRAP III might address towards experts in the field of didactics and the development of European Quality and Credit Systems in E&T, for example, experts from the national ECVET teams. They might be invited to teach in the pilot sessions.

In the last phase of this WP, the TTT will be made available to the ENEN Association for recognition within their system. Although developed in the framework of radiation protection training, this TTT will be also of use to training providers in other domains such as nuclear engineering, geological disposal and low dose research.

WP5 Dissemination of project results and contribution to a website for capacity building and transfer of know-how in radiation protection

Objectives

The aim of this WP is to contribute to a website that will

• provide an electronic platform where all relevant information about E&T in radiation protection can be found;
• increase awareness and visibility of existing E&T resources for RP, thereby also providing a better understanding on where and which education and training measures are currently missing;
• enable access to learning materials and useful information around E&T in radiation protection, providing support to E&T providers and enabling them to improve the quality and increase the availability of training courses;
• combine all relevant available information regarding E&T in RP, currently spread over different carriers, and offer them to the stakeholders in one coherent way with one tool.

Description of Work

This WP aims at installing a knowledge/document management system in order to preserve the vast amount of results that are already produced in past related projects and in this ENETRAP III. It also aims at bringing together the information that is currently spread over several websites and other carriers such as databases, CD-ROMs, paper documents, … In this way it not only increases the efficiency of RP initiatives but also provides access to a vast amount of knowledge and opens the door for new opportunities.

The main deliverable of this WP will be a website containing all relevant information on E&T in radiation protection. It will demonstrate a web-based document management system where training providers can make their training material available. In this way, the website aims at being the complete and main source of information for E&T matter in radiation protection, including legal requirements, national approaches, European E&T standards and requirements, course material, course organisations, etc… In order to make efficient use of resources and to reach an optimal result, ENETRAP III will collaborate with the EUTERP Foundation that has already an operational radiation protection website, which will serve as a basis for this electronic platform. This website will also increase the transparency in capacity building on RP, will facilitate the access to available E&T material and foreseen course events, and will improve the coordination between the different institutions involved in capacity building.

In this way, ENETRAP III meets the advice given at the ENETRAP II Advisory Board meeting of January 2012, where it was stated that the current spread of relevant material and information hinders an efficient use of available resources. Gathering all important background information, data and ideas, and making them available (taking into account IPR and copyright notices) in an easy accessible way, will benefit the future developments in E&T and thus contribute to better development of courses, increasing competences of workers and leading to improved radiation protection practices.

ENETRAP III recognizes the importance of the sustainability of the valuable information that is gathered on this portal. Setting up this WP with the EUTERP Foundation guarantees the sustainability of this deliverable. Towards the end of the project (second half of the project), the obtained project results will be presented and potential future initiatives could be identified at an open workshop involving all parties concerned.

WP6 Testing of methodologies for RPE recognition and mutual recognition in practice

Objectives

The concept of mutual recognition (between Member States) of an individual’s status as an RPE is fundamental to the concept of worker mobility. Inherent in this process is the need for acceptance between countries of suitability/appropriateness of national training and development of activities likely to be undertaken by an individual aspiring to be a recognised RPE.

The objective, therefore, in this WP is to test the methodologies in order to (i) refine (if necessary) and validate the methodologies, (ii) promote acceptance within Member States and (iii) demonstrate a first European registration system for continuous professional development for RPEs that can assist the process of (mutual) recognition.

Description of Work

Although recognition of experts is not only dependent on E&T, but also on work experience and national regulation, E&T forms an important part of the general recognition procedures that are applied in the Member States.

Given the fact that national Regulatory Authorities have a role in the recognition of RPEs, it is vital that there is appropriate dialogue with this important stakeholder. HERCA, member of the CG of ENETRAP III, has already set up a task force on E&T and has expressed their profound interest in the topic of the ENETRAP projects. In addition, they have invited EUTERP to participate to this task force. With both organisations connected to this ENETRAP III, the basis for good and efficient collaboration with the essential parties involved is guaranteed.

The next phase of the work (which will run over the full course of the project) will be to implement the proposed methodology for RPE Recognition on a “test case” basis in at least 2 countries that do not currently have formal national schemes in place. A component of this phase will be to consider the value of the application of the ECVET approach in the RPE development process.

The final phase will be, again by means of test cases, to work through the process of mutual recognition of RPEs between at least 4 countries. A component of this phase will be consideration of the acceptability of training courses etc. between Member States.

WP7 Writing of guidance to support the implementation of E&T requirements for RPE and RPO as defined in the Euratom BSS

Objectives

The objective of this WP is to facilitate the implementation of the new requirements for RPE and RPO in Member States and to help ensuring a consistent approach throughout the European Union.

Description of Work

The (revised) Euratom BSS Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom lays down specific requirements for the Radiation Protection Expert (RPE) and for the Radiation Protection Officer (RPO). Member States must translate the goals and requirements that it lays down into their national legislation within a defined period of time.

Experience has shown that, even though the specific requirement in a European Directive may be quite clear, there can be widely varying approaches to the interpretation of those requirements and implementation in practice. This was well illustrated by the different interpretations of the “Qualified Expert” in the previous BSS and the consequential varying approaches to E&T which prompted much of the work undertaken in ENETRAP and ENETRAP II and has led, in part, to the introduction of the concepts of RPE and RPO in the Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom.

It is considered that the availability of clear and substantive guidance on how the new requirements for RPE and RPO would be best implemented in Member States would be of value, not only in facilitating the implementation of the requirements across Europe, but in helping to ensure a consistent approach. It is the intention in this work package to produce such guidance which will address all key issues for RPE and RPO, that is:

• adoption of requirements into legislation;
• intended roles/functions/duties of RPE and RPO;
• required infrastructures and mechanism for recognition (RPE);
• suitability and competence requirements (RPE and RPO);
• appropriate education and training (including determination of learning outcomes, EQF level, etc.).

The guidance proposed in this WP will complement the guidance being developed in the medical field by facilitating the implementation of the new requirements for RPE and RPO in Member States and helping to ensure a consistent approach throughout the European Union. In this WP, a close collaboration with HERCA, EC DG ENERGY and the Art. 31 Group of Experts will lead to an official publication of the new guidelines for the implementaion of E&T schemens for RPE and RPO.