Two weeks among reactors, cooling towers and industry experts awaited the participants in this year’s Summer University at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant. The 35 selected university students included 12 from the BUT Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

The 18th ČEZ Group Summer University gave students from technical universities the opportunity to experience the workings of a nuclear power plant first-hand. This year, 35 students from six Czech universities came to Dukovany, with Brno University of Technology having the largest representation.

The two-week internship programme combined specialist lectures, discussions with industry professionals and tours of areas normally inaccessible to visitors. The students visited the reactor hall, the main control room simulator, the spent nuclear fuel storage facility and a cooling tower, among other places. Over the course of the two weeks, they met dozens of experts who introduced them not only to the operation of the power plant and its technologies, but also to current projects and the future direction of nuclear energy in the Czech Republic.

The Summer University is intended for students at technical universities who are interested in the energy sector. This year’s participants study subjects ranging from nuclear engineering, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering to civil engineering, chemistry and crisis management. Alongside the specialist programme, the organisers also arranged leisure activities, including a boat trip on the Dalešice Reservoir, a tour of Třebíč’s UNESCO World Heritage sites and an afternoon of sport.

FME Vice-Deans Jaroslav Katolický and Lubomír Klimeš also attended the final day of this year’s Summer University. Their presence brought to a close two weeks during which the students were able to complement the knowledge gained in their studies with first-hand experience at one of the Czech Republic’s two nuclear power plants.