Five students from Kozloduy represented Bulgaria at the third edition of the International Mentoring Workshop organized by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), held from 22 to 25 September 2026 in Bucharest, Romania.
The workshop, organized by the NEA in close cooperation with the Romanian Nuclear and Radioactive Waste Agency (ANDR), brought together 40 students from Romania, Bulgaria, and Canada, who worked alongside national and international mentors from government, industry, academia, and international organizations.
At the invitation of the Romanian Agency, SERAW took part in the international workshop by organizing and supporting the participation of five Bulgarian students nominated by the three secondary schools in Kozloduy—Rosenka Paisieva, Teodora Ivanova, Nikol Nikolova, Neli Stankova, and Boryana Guneva—accompanied by English language teachers Elka Stankova from Hristo Botev Secondary School and Vladislava Viktorova from St. St. Cyril and Methodius Secondary School.
The Bulgarian representatives received well-deserved applause for their well-structured presentation, which showcased a part of Bulgarian traditions and the country’s ethnographic regions, with an emphasis on the Northwestern region where Bulgaria’s nuclear facilities are located. It also highlighted the role of the bee as a natural indicator of a clean environment and the Honey Festival as a symbol of SERAW’s commitment to humanity, nature, and heritage. Through the symbol of the bee, the Bulgarian presentation demonstrated that nuclear technologies and environmental care can coexist in harmony. In the context of women’s involvement in STEM and the nuclear sector, some of the enterprise’s activities and public awareness initiatives were also presented to the international community.
During the four days of the workshop, the participants worked at the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA, the Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, and the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, and visited a number of significant scientific and cultural sites.
As part of the workshop, the participants visited the Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) facility in Măgurele, where they explored cutting-edge scientific research and state-of-the-art laser technologies. In Bucharest, the program continued with motivational speeches, mentoring presentations, and interactive discussions in small groups. The third day was dedicated to leadership, featuring thematic discussions, leadership activities, student presentations, and a formal certificate award ceremony. The workshop concluded with a technical visit to the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant, providing the participants with direct exposure to nuclear operations, safety culture, and engineering professions.
The speakers and mentors at the workshop included distinguished international authorities, among whom William D. Magwood, IV – Director-General of the NEA, Rumina Velshi – Co-Chair of the workshop and former President of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, as well as representatives of the IAEA, CNSC, CNCAN, RATEN ICN, IFIN-HH, and WHO Romania. A special video address to the participants was made by Hélène Langevin-Joliot – a distinguished nuclear physicist and granddaughter of Marie Skłodowska-Curie.
