(WACO) – Twenty visitors from 10 countries toured several instructional programs at Texas State Technical College on Wednesday, Oct. 25, as part of a joint collaboration between TSTC and the Nuclear Power Institute at Texas A&M University that began in 2007.
The visitors are industry professionals representing a variety of international government organizations and institutions of higher learning.
The one-day stop at TSTC was part of an International Atomic Energy Agency interregional training course designed to familiarize participants with the physics and technology behind water-cooled nuclear reactors.
Jacob Navar, TSTC Radiation Protection Technology instructor, led a campus tour that included the radiation lab and the Welding Technology and Electrical Power and Controls programs.
“My goal is to facilitate relationships and education about radiation protection,” Navar said. “It’s helpful for them to come and learn about it so they can take back what they have learned.”
Navar gave the participants a short history of TSTC and the Radiation Protection program before introducing Adam Hutchison, provost of TSTC’s Waco campus.
“What you’re experiencing today on this campus is not only a Texas partnership with our local legislature and institutions like Texas A&M, but it’s truly a global partnership,” Hutchison told the attendees. “The skills that we teach our students we hope prepare them for the world of work no matter where they are. We can serve the state of Texas and truly the entire world with the training the students get here.”
Mamadou Kanoute, a visitor from Senegal’s Ministry of Energy, voiced his excitement at visiting TSTC and seeing equipment firsthand.
“I’m delighted to be here at TSTC,” he said. “I’m a nuclear engineer. I am very happy because I have only seen (this) equipment in video. This is very useful to me because I can see the equipment in person. I will go back and inform the ministry about all I have seen. I want to send students from my country so they can study here.”
Texas District 56 Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson was also in attendance to welcome the group.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, Texas has the second most Environmental Science and Protection Technicians in the nation, with O*Net Online reporting that the state’s percentage of jobs in the field is expected to grow by 22 percent through 2024.
The Nuclear Power Institute is a unique statewide partnership led by the Texas Engineering Experiment Station and headquartered at Texas A&M.
For more information on TSTC, visit tstc.edu.