I had just started my PhD, late 2016, I attended one of our weekly regular research advertising lectures. This lecture turned out to be one out of the ordinary. Jean-Pierre Revol gave a presentation with the title Sustainable Thorium Energy for the world. The talk aligned and embraced my dedicated interest in sustainability, technology and nuclear physics, while it simultaneously opened up my eyes for a possibility in nuclear energy I was not aware about. Thorium Energy seemed to me something that we just had to try!

I wanted to learn more. The organization Thorium Energy World was the obvious place to start and with a gentle push from my wife I wrote an email. I asked whether there exists an education on the topic of Thorium Nuclear Energy:

Do there exist any “summer schools” or anything similar on the topic of thorium reactors which can educate a curious student?

Answer: Sadly, it does not. However, are you interested in creating one?

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Since then, I have been engaged in the Thorium Energy World organization and specifically in the development of an education on Thorium Energy. The education is to initially comprise a course on the Thorium Molten Salt Reactor (TMSR). The goal is:

a university level TMSR education free for anyone to use that inspires future nuclear engineers and scientists while it organizes teachers and students

The course consists of two parts. The first part is lectures where each comprise the material:

• Presentation
• Talk: text that goes with presentation
• Quiz questions: conceptually focused questions along the way. Could be integrated into the presentations.
• Exercise problems: students learn how to solve typical problems apparent in the field.

The second part is a project. In the project the student will get the opportunity to work on a challenging real world connected problem in the field of TMSRs for the student to deepen her/his expertise. Ideally, the project unites the students with researchers and developers, and vice versa, through a cooperation.

Documents outlining the entire course content in keywords and describing teaching guidelines are in use. Now experts in academia and industry from the field are creating the material.

2018-08-19: As of now the first lecture material has been finalized. The showcase lecture is presented here: TMSR – Education

Stay tuned …