The Lise Meitner Programme, an IAEA flagship initiative to accelerate career development for women in nuclear fields, reached new heights last week with a visit to Japan.
Launched in 2023 by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, the Lise Meitner Programme (LMP) provides women with opportunities to help advance their careers in fields such as nuclear engineering, physics and radiation science. Designed to enhance both technical and soft skills and to foster professional relationship building, the programme enables participants to expand their expertise and prepare to take on managerial roles in their respective fields.
Fifteen early and mid-career professional women from 13 countries who work in industry, academia and government took part in the LMP visit to Japan, which was jointly hosted by the University of Tokyo, the Japan Atomic Energy Commission and the Cabinet Office of Japan. The two-week visit featured lectures, nuclear facility site tours and other leadership training activities.
"Facilitating growth is what brings resilience to the nuclear energy sector, and that is the great value that the LMP initiative provides," said Lisa Lande, the IAEA's Technical Lead for Knowledge and Human Capacity Building.
Japan was a fitting host for this fifth LMP visit since the country has around six decades of experience operating nuclear power plants and is a global leader in science and technology. It is also home to world-class nuclear research facilities, including the Oarai Nuclear Engineering Institute.
"This programme came at the exact right time in my career," said Isabelle Gentili, an operation officer at ITER, the international nuclear fusion and engineering project in France. "I've been struggling with my 'why', and this experience helped me find it. I'm so grateful."
During the visit, which took place from 9 to 20 June, participants attended lectures at the University of Tokyo on topics including fuel design, radiation protection and thermal hydraulics; engaged in professional development and leadership workshops in areas such as strategic planning; and visited several nuclear facilities, including the Hamaoka nuclear power plant and the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor. The group also visited Hitachi-GE's Rinkai factory, which produces a variety of components for nuclear power reactors.
The participants also toured the city of Shizuoka, met with members of the Japan chapter of Women in Nuclear to share their experiences, and worked together in small groups to discuss how the Fukushima accident could have been prevented.
"This LMP visit was so much more than professional development," said Aibope Davletiyarova, Manager of Uranium Control at Kazatomprom in Kazakhstan. "It was a retreat for the soul and brain."
The visit was supported with funding from Japan through the IAEA Peaceful Uses Initiative.
The next LMP visit , which will focus on research reactors, will be jointly hosted by Canada's McMaster University and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories from 13 to 25 July.
