Hemangi Shrivastava, an Indian student pursuing her Master’s degree in Electronics and Nanoelectronics at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MPEI), is among this year’s selected recipients of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme (MSCFP) designed to support women in nuclear science. MPEI is one of the flagship institutions under Rosatom’s core and partner university network. As part of the initiative to expose young women in nuclear studies, Hemangi was one of the sixteen students from around the world who participated in a technical tour of the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant on March 28. The visit introduced students to advanced technologies that ensure safe and efficient operation of nuclear power plant.

The participants visited the industrial site, turbine halls, reactor control rooms, and unit control panels and held discussions with the plant's management. Speaking about her impressions of the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant visit, Hemangi Shrivastava noted: “I’ve always dreamed of visiting a nuclear power facility. Visiting Kalinin NPP was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Seeing the scale, complexity and precision of a fully operational nuclear power facility was deeply inspiring.

As a student of electronics and nanoelectronics, witnessing such advanced systems in action strengthened my resolve to contribute meaningfully to the nuclear industry. Hemangi also said she was grateful for the experience and felt fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit one of Russia’s leading nuclear power plants. In addition to the technical tour, the participants attended a seminar organised by the Moscow branch of the Rosatom Technical Academy, focusing on the role of women in the nuclear industry. Gulnara Bikkulova, Deputy Director General and Director of the International Initiatives and Partnerships Division of the Rosatom Corporate Academy, spoke about how Rosatom supports the development of leadership qualities among women specialists in the nuclear industry.

"The proportion of women in Russia’s nuclear industry exceeds 32%, compared to the global average of 28%. Today, about 120,000 women work in the Rosatom State Corporation, with nearly a third holding top management positions," Bikkulova noted. Rosatom has built an educational ecosystem that identifies professional inclinations and preferences from an early age, explained Vera Upiryeva, Senior Manager of the Project Office for Education Development and International Cooperation.

"Rosatom's educational ecosystem offers partner countries a comprehensive approach to workforce training, including career guidance from school age, close collaboration with colleges and universities in Russia and abroad, and a wide range of lifelong learning programs," Upiryeva noted. Participants from various countries also shared their experiences as MSCFP scholas, emphasising how such programs help in breaking stereotypes about women's capabilities in the nuclear industry while also promoting personal and professional growth.

The MSCFP Programme, supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was launched in 2020 to encourage more women to enter and thrive in the nuclear sector. The programme supports talented students pursuing nuclear-related studies at the Master’s level. To date, more than 560 students from 121 countries have been selected from over 2,200 applications. Rosatom has been a key partner of the IAEA’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme, supporting around 40 female students from 17 countries over the past four years. In the current academic year, 12 students from their flagship universities across 10 countries including Armenia, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe received the scholarship, which covers tuition, internships, a monthly stipend, and additional financial support from Rosatom.