On August 21-25, representatives of Polish technical universities and the Ministry of National Defence visited nuclear facilities in Japan.

The trip was attended by representatives of the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Gdansk University of Technology, Krakow University of Technology, Poznan University of Technology, Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, Warsaw University of Technology and Wroclaw University of Science and Technology.

The visit to Japan began with a meeting with the Polish Ambassador in Tokyo. In the following days, the Polish delegation visited selected nuclear power plants, research laboratories and personnel training centres for the nuclear power industry. The culmination of the visit was a meeting with the teams working at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, destroyed as a result of the events initiated by the earthquake and tsunami wave in 2011.

In the unanimous opinion of all participants, the information collected during the visit, and in particular the possibility of entering facilities normally not accessible to outsiders, significantly contributed to expanding the competencies of research and teaching staff responsible for preparing staff for the Polish Nuclear Energy Program. The collected materials will soon enrich the educational programs at our universities, expand the awareness of the national public opinion on the safety of nuclear power plants and enable the use of the potential related to the possibility of conducting unique research in the field of new technologies.

The organizer of the visit was the Poznan University of Technology, represented by prof. Janusz Wojtkowiak and prof. Piotr Sielicki.

The note was prepared by: prof. Janusz Wojtkowiak