Cooperations with schools and universities

The specific age group currently entering the education system plays a key role in the execution of the strategic goals of Paks Nuclear Power Plant. They are required as nuclear industry professionals (nuclear and electrical engineers, physicists, operational and maintenance experts) in order to the Power Plant can be operable until 2037. At the same time, it is not obvious how many professionals of scientific and educational institutions, supervisory organizations, and design and manufacturing companies are involved in the nuclear energy industry in addition to the thousands of experts working for Paks NPP.
When reinforcement is considered the company should take care of all levels of experts, since loss of knowledge and skills or dilution of certain professions could damage the whole system. Schools and universities have a determining role in the workforce reinforcement. Since today technology careers, especially professions involved in energy and nuclear industry, are generally not among the most popular ones, professionals of Paks NPP have to do a lot to raise and maintain the interest of younger generations toward the nuclear profession.
Paks Nuclear Power Plant as the most determining participant of Hungary's nuclear industry has accomplished a lot to raise the interest of students and tutors towards education in the nuclear energy sector.
The most important connection of the NPPP to the lower level of the education system is supporting the Foundation of the Training Institute of Energetics (TIE). In 2007 the board of the Foundation in agreement with the management of the Paks NPP and of Hungarian Power Companies Ltd. set a new strategic goal for TIE: it should be developed to become the national centre of energy industry education.
Paks NPP has a wide network connecting it to higher education, considering its cooperation with almost all universities conducting technology education. This cooperation is bilaterally advantageous: while universities take part in solving technology problems and conduct cooperative research, Paks NPP provides practical facilities and assists the preparation of BSc, MSc and PhD work. Supporting the direct recruitment of the nuclear engineers, Paks NPP established a scholarship for  students of its main educational partner, the Budapest University of Technology and Economics.