Year
2012
Abstract
The George Kuzmycz Training Center for Physical Protection, Control and Accounting of Nuclear Materials (GKTC) was established as a division within the Institute for Nuclear Research, National Academy of Science of Ukraine, in pursuance of the Nunn-Lugar Program. The mission of this Program was to provide technical assistance to Ukraine in the development of the State Material Protection, Control and Accounting (MPC&A) system. During the years of its operation, the GKTC, owing to the productive cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories and financial, technical and methodological support from the U.S. Department of Energy, has been providing formal initial and advanced training for physical protection specialists, both of Ukraine and of other Former Soviet Union (FSU) 1 countries. Such training made a very significant contribution to the nuclear security of Ukrainian nuclear facilities and nuclear materials. In the process of training at the GKTC, students attend lectures, participate in discussions, do case studies and perform practical exercises, the materials for which are drawn from real scenarios. GKTC administers tests to the students to determine the level of their knowledge before training and upon completion of the courses. The obtained information is used by GKTC personnel to revise and adapt training courses for each type of student audience. GKTC personnel, jointly with teams of experts from the U.S. National Laboratories, developed training curriculums, as well as lecture materials and practical exercises for numerous courses, ensured that the GKTC instructors received advanced training in their subject matters and enhanced their teaching skills. Over the years 1,500 participants representing every nuclear facility in Ukraine have attended physical protection training courses offered by GKTC. The 15 years of productive U.S.-Ukrainian cooperation has resulted in establishing the GKTC as the leading training institution in Ukraine that provides advanced training for Ukrainian nuclear industry specialists in the MPC&A area. In addition to providing MPC&A training the GKTC also organizes a very successful annual MPC&A Conference in Ukraine, various workshops, and provides consultations to the Ukrainian nuclear industry in the MPC&A area.