Nuclear energy plays an essential role in the global low-carbon energy mix. It is vital to the successful energy transition – and is a dynamic sector in which to build a lifelong career in sustainable energy.
The European Master’s in Nuclear Energy (MSc EMINE) deepens your technical knowledge, while broadening your understanding of the wider energy sector and the societal, economic and environmental impacts of nuclear energy. Whether it’s leading the design of new reactor types, managing the safe decommissioning of older plants, developing innovative new policy, or planning effective waste management, this nuclear energy programme equips you to meet the challenges facing the global industry.

With courses given by industry experts, on-site work and practicals, and field visits, the MSc EMINE also gives you unrivalled opportunities to engage directly with major industrial players and research institutes. More than half of your time on this nuclear energy programme is spent with industrial partners that include Areva, EDF and Endesa and the CEA, one of the most important research centres in nuclear energy in Europe

The two-year MSc EMINE programme gives you an in-depth knowledge of the nuclear industry, and its role within the wider energy ecosystem. You receive the high-level scientific and technical education required to master the engineering complexities of nuclear power generation, as well as training in business and innovation management.

MSc EMINE has strong partnerships with all the leading players in the European nuclear industry who actively participate in the programme to ensure it remains current and relevant to your needs – and their own.

Where permitted, our partners are involved in curriculum design, student selection, teaching and lecturing, hosting internships, supporting Master’s theses, and creating job opportunities for our graduates. You will also have the opportunity to engage with our industrial partners during networking events, guest lectures and field visits.

The programme enables you to integrate the technical aspects of the nuclear industry with key environmental, economic, regulatory and social issues.

MSc EMINE is an international programme for an international industry. You will join students from all over the world for two years at two different universities and one of Europe’s leading business schools. After successfully completing the programme and your Master’s thesis, you will receive a double diploma: a Master’s degree from two of the following institutions:

• Master Material Science for Nuclear Energy, from Grenoble INP: Institute of Technology, France
  
  
• Master of Science, from KTH: Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
  
  
• Master of Science Nuclear Energy, from Université Paris-Saclay, France
  
  
• Master of Nuclear Engineering, from UPC: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech, Spain

Year 1

In the first year, you can choose to attend either KTH: Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm or UPC: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech, where you take core modules in the fundamentals of nuclear engineering, safety and radiation protection, as well as design and management of power plants.

Summer school

At the end of this first year, all students gather for a summer school at the Grenoble École de Management in France, to explore innovation issues within the energy market in general and the nuclear industry in particular.

During the summer school, you can also attend guest lectures given by experts from the nuclear industry and attend field visits to nuclear, research and manufacturing facilities.

Year 2

In the second year, you remain in France and attend either the Grenoble INP or the Université Paris-Saclay. At this stage in the programme, students choose to specialise in one of the following areas:

• Materials science for nuclear energy
• Nuclear reactor physics and engineering
• Nuclear plant design
• Operations
• Fuel cycle
• Decommissioning and waste management
  
  

Your Master’s thesis

You complete your second and final year with a Master’s thesis, which you undertake at one of our industrial or research partners. Your thesis should have a strong focus on innovative solutions and should be and should be aligned with research or technology projects in nuclear energy. Working on your thesis gives you privileged access to some of the most prestigious companies, research centres and installations in Europe. Their experts become mentors for your research.

Your thesis corresponds to five months of full-time study and is worth 30 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System credits (ECTS).

The nuclear industry is truly international and requires a global mindset. The MSc EMINE programme is an opportunity to start building your international network by working closely with fellow students from around the world, while the business-focused elements of the curriculum explore how to work in and manage multi-cultural teams.

The MSc EMINE programme gives you a comprehensive understanding of the key issues surrounding nuclear energy, and opens up a wide variety of career paths, including the key areas of design and construction, operation and maintenance, decommissioning and waste management.

The strong focus on business skills and innovation will enable you to readily take on managerial and leadership positions. Alternatively, the MSc EMINE is the first step to your career in research and PhD work.

You study at two separate universities in two different countries. For your first year you can choose to study at either the KTH: Royal Institute of Technology, in Sweden or at UPC: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech in  Spain. For the second year, you can choose to study at either the Grenoble INP or the Université Paris-Saclay – both in France.

Your summer school is also in France, at the Grenoble École de Management.

After successfully completing the MSc EMINE programme, you will receive a prestigious degree from each of your chosen universities, which form your double diploma:

• KTH: Master of Science
• UPC: Master of Nuclear Engineering
• Grenoble INP: Master Materials Science for Nuclear Energy
• Paris-Saclay: Master of Science Nuclear Energy

The EIT Label is a quality seal awarded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) to a KIC educational programme that has been assessed positively by the EIT on the implementation of the EIT Quality Assurance and Learning Enhancement (EIT QALE) system and the application of specific quality criteria with focus on the EIT Overarching Learning Outcomes (EIT OLOs), robust entrepreneurship education, highly integrated, innovative ‘learning-by-doing’ curricula, international mobility and outreach. For more information please check here.

After the first year spent at either UPC in Spain or KTH in Sweden, The MSc EMINE programme brings together all students at the Grenoble École de Management in France for a three-week summer school.

This is your opportunity to discuss current issues in the energy markets in general, and nuclear energy in particular. You get to analyse and dissect potential innovative solutions, and gain the necessary skills to grasp the societal, economic and environmental impacts of nuclear energy.

Throughout the summer school, the emphasis is on innovation, entrepreneurship and the development of valuable and highly-prized soft skills such as intercultural management or learning how to pitch new business or product ideas. You also have a chance to take the highly-regarded Myers-Briggs® Type Indicator (MBTI) test to get a better understanding of your own personality type, strengths and attributes.

In addition, you will learn about different business models and their application. The summer school gives you the opportunity to participate in simulation games to identify entrepreneurial opportunities. Finally, you have the chance to visit the French SME, CORYS, a world reference in training and engineering simulators, including those designed for nuclear plants.

The most recent summer school focused on “Nuclear controversy”, and asked all students to assess the problems and opportunities presented by “an electricity system based 100% on renewable power”. This was students’ chance to interview a variety of experts with a variety of positions and opinions in this debate, and then compile their findings and develop a website to present them.

The results of the 2017 exercise can be found at:

• energyslaveblog.wordpress.com
• grid100renewable.wordpress.com
• totallyrenewable.wikia.com/wiki/The100%Renewable_Debate

Participating experts in 2017’s summer school included:

• Dr. Frédérique Livet, Director of Research at the CNRS and a member of Save the Climate Association
  
  
• Bernard Bonin, physicist at CEA and Areva
  
  
• Dr. Robin Girard, researcher and teacher at Mines ParisTech
  
  
• Vincent Fristrot, Deputy Mayor of Grenoble and president of Gaz Electricité de Grenoble (GEG)
  
  
• Dr. Jean-Yves Caneill, Head of Climate Policy at EDF
  
  
• Dr. Manuel Villavicencio, PhD candidate in energy economics and energy storage
  
  
• Benoit Praderie, CEO of Soleil du Midi and former SE Asia Director of Areva
  
  
• Jenny Winkler, research assistant in the Competence Center Energy Policy and Energy Markets, Fraunhofer

“As a nuclear engineering student, this was an interesting and challenging task, as it required us to shed any existing biases and assess information objectively. Interviewing individuals from industry and academia was a new and novel task for most of us, and a great learning experience. Perhaps the best part of the exercise was presenting the results of our analysis in the form of a website.
Overall, a fun and worthwhile learning experience!”

Neil Calder, MSc EMINE student

Want to design a nuclear reactor? Shape nuclear energy policy? Develop innovative waste management techniques? Then the European Master’s in Nuclear Energy (MSc EMINE) programme will give you the practical experience and depth and breadth of knowledge you need to build a lifelong career in this dynamic sector, one that plays an essential role in the global transition to a low carbon energy mix.

We believe that hands-on, practical experience is invaluable for nuclear energy students as they prepare to build careers in the sector. A key aspect of the EMINE programme is our “learning beyond the lecture hall” philosophy. See and experience for yourself the sector’s potential and impact in engineering, environmental and societal contexts. Meet and interact with business experts, fellow students, recent graduates, thriving start-ups and our industrial partners from across the industry and around the world throughout this two-year programme.

During the course, you will have numerous opportunities to visit leading nuclear facilities. For example, during Grenoble École de Management Summer School, you can visit CORYS, a world-class French SME training and engineering centre, which specialises in the development of simulators for industrial applications including nuclear plants.

Some of the other field visits and placements on the EMINE programme are: 

This two-week summer course offers you the chance to see the geological storage of spent nuclear fuel at first-hand. In addition to lectures, visits will be made to the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory near Oskarshamn, southern Sweden. Lecture topics include the back-end of the fuel cycle, fourth generation reactors, reprocessing, geological considerations, decommissioning, petrology and mineralogy, hydrology and microbiology. There is also a programme of social and leisure events planned.

This course is organised by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, (SKB), Oskarshamn Municipality, and the Nova Center for University Studies Research and Development.

Field visits to nuclear sites across France during your time at Paris Saclay are determined by your choice of elective courses. Fieldtrip destinations include: Flamanvile, Tricastin, Marcoule, Melox, and La Hague. These visits incorporate every aspect of the industry, from fuel and energy production, waste recycling, and command centre simulations. Learn about day-to-day operations in a nuclear plant with EDF simulators and the CEA’s IRIS reactor.

Second-year EMINE students at Grenoble INP will focus on nuclear materials, from nuclear fuel to nuclear components. Get up to speed with the latest challenges and opportunities related to nuclear materials, as well as trends in innovation.

Two unique course areas are available in this elective: a three-week course at CEA Cadarache, including visits to laboratories and ITER; and EDF R&D’s Material Aging Institute, (two weeks on Pressurized Water Reactor components).

All EMINE students have the opportunity of organising the Watt’s Up Conference. During the annual event, participants debate world energy issues for a large, non-specialist audience. You will receive support from our scientific and industrial experts, and we encourage you to present facts, answer questions, and engage your audience creatively and spontaneously.

All first-year students on InnoEnergy Master’s School programmes get together with tutors and industry experts from all sections of the energy sector to mark the start of the new academic year. 

All students are encouraged to apply for six- to eight-month internships at one of the programme’s industrial partners.

Companies supporting the EMINE programme include Areva, EDF, Endesa and Vattenfall. In addition, the Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA), one of Europe’s leading nuclear energy research centres, provides the EMINE course with technical advice and engineering expertise.