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Nuclear Bursary Student of the Year
The National Skills Academy for Nuclear has awarded Sellafield Decommissioning worker Paul Hughes their prestigious Bursary Student of the Year. TV’s Red Dwarf actor Chris Barrie presented Paul with a trophy, a certificate and a cheque in recognition of the achievement at the awards ceremony earlier this month.
Paul Hughes explained: “Fifteen months ago, I was granted a bursary to study an MSc in 'Systems Thinking' with the Open University. It’s a fascinating subject and I’m delighted to have received this award.”
“I’ve been working in Decommissioning at Sellafield for the last three years and the company has been highly supportive of my studies. I started out on the company's graduate scheme after finishing my first degree in Theoretical Physics at Manchester. In addition, Sellafield Ltd is also supporting me through another MSc at Lancaster University in Nuclear Decommissioning.”
Paul works for the technical team who are responsible for developing options for treating solid waste from the Sellafield Legacy Ponds, which are currently undergoing decommissioning.
His MSc in systems thinking is the study of 'messy complicated' situations where there's a host of different, often conflicting, perspectives and no single correct solution can be calculated, therefore a course of action needs to be negotiated with those involved.
Paul added: “I decided to study this subject after realising that, whilst the science and technology of the nuclear industry is some of the most challenging and unique in the world - it is often the case that agreeing a course of action can be just as difficult. Thus far, I've studied a number of situations including the geological disposal of nuclear waste, water management in Australia and General Practitioner Commissioning in the National Health Service.“
The National Skills Academy for Nuclear is an employer led organisation established to ensure that the UK Nuclear Industry and its Supply Chain has the skilled, competent and safe workforce it needs to deal with the current and future UK nuclear programme.
One of the services they provide is bursaries for employees within the nuclear industry to develop their skills by undertaking training outside of their day to day roles. The bursaries can be applied for in support of a range of training courses.
Paul’s Senior Line Manager, Andy Trow, said “We are all very proud of Paul. By receiving this prestigious national award from the National Skills Academy for Nuclear, he has brought great credit to our decommissioning project, the Decommissioning Directorate and indeed Sellafield Ltd. This is indeed an achievement worth celebrating.”
