Turkey to send 80 students to Russia for nuclear education

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s Akkuyu nuclear power plant has completed the selection process of 80 Turkish students to study nuclear engineering in Russia from among 6,300 candidates. 

These 80 students have gained the right to study nuclear engineering at Moscow’s National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI” and St. Petersburg Polytechnic State University with full scholarships and with the guarantee of employment in the Akkuyu nuclear power plant after they have completed their eduction, the company said in a written statement on May 25. 

Around 6,300 Turkish students applied to be selected. After a series of written and oral exams, 80 students were selected by an educational committee. These students will now be asked which Russian university they would like to be enrolled in. 

There are students from leading Turkish universities among the 80 qualifiers, including students from Middle East Technical University (METU), Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ), Boğaziçi University and Ankara University.

Once approved, the students will receive $500 monthly and be provided with accommodation during their study and internship. A one-time round-trip plane ticket will also be provided annually.

Currently, Russia is educating around 250 Turkish students in nuclear energy in line with an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia and Turkey in 2010 to build the latter’s first nuclear power plant in the southern province of Akkuyu. 

After their Russian language and nuclear technology-related courses, the attendees will intern in Russia’s state-owned nuclear company, Rosatom.

Once the internship is over, students will begin work in the Akkuyu plant.