Sustainability of a Nuclear Security Educational Program at Tomsk Polytechnic University

Educational programs for training of specialists in the area of material protection, control and accounting (MPC&A) for Russian nuclear facilities have been implemented at the National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University over the last eight years. The initial stage of creating the program, which can be deemed as successfully functioning, has been completed. The next stage entails further improvement of the program in order to create conditions for its sustainability and steady improvement. The educational program sustainability plan contains a number of steps, including the following: ? Analysis of the status, standards and prospects for development of nuclear security educational programs in the world; ? Analysis of the current educational program, level of its functionality and the demand for the program as well as its capability to react adequately to external influences; ? Analysis of the factors influencing program development at its current stage and in the future; ? Assessment of needs and development of proposals for the program’s sustainability; ? Assessment of needs and development of proposals for improving quality and increasing the demand for the program by potential employers; ? Assessment of needs and development of proposals for expansion of the program’s content and the scope of its application; ? Development of short-term and long-term plans for functioning and development. Strategic prospects for development are associated with the transition from MPC&A to a broader range of tasks covered by the specialization in the area of nuclear security