The presentations given by experts from BASE and TÜV NORD provided an insight into aspects of their everyday work, such as supervisory activities or the testing of casks for the transport and storage of radioactive materials.

The lecturers from TU Berlin provided a scientific view on topics such as environmental testing, geoscientific requirements for final disposal, or nuclear power from the perspective of system material analysis. Students and BASE staff engaged in lively discussions. 38 TU students and 14 BASE staff members had registered for the event.

Lectures and interactive formats

Various aspects of radioactive waste disposal were presented, ranging from the regulatory pyramid to interim storage concepts, from geoscientific influence factors of future ice ages on the repository site to public participation in the search procedure. In addition to the lectures, there were also interactive formats, such as a workshop in which the participants had to take on the role of representatives of the state, politics and civil society, and wrestle with different repository concepts.

The final disposal of radioactive waste is not just a technical problem, but a social task. This makes the topic a highly exciting, interdisciplinary challenge. I am pleased that so many students from a wide range of disciplines have taken part in this course, and are addressing this topic with great interest," says Jochen Ahlswede, Head of Research and International Affairs at BASE.

The aim of the course was to illustrate the diversity and interdisciplinarity of the field of nuclear waste disposal - and to inspire young professionals to work at BASE, TÜV Nord, or in academia.

Exhibition and closing at BASE

On the last day of the university week, the students visited the exhibition "After Nuclear Power - Conversions of the Nuclear Age" at BASE: In this exhibition, students majoring in Urban planning at the University of Kassel are thinking about what to do with the massive nuclear power plant buildings after the reactors are shut down – go back to a greenfield site or erect a memorial to a bygone era?

BASE would like to thank the partner institutions and the students for the good cooperation and the lively exchange.