Despite the growing use of nuclear medicine, the potential expansion of nuclear power plants, and worries about protection against nuclear threats and the management of the nuclear waste generated in past decades, the number of students opting to specialize in nuclear and radiochemistry has decreased significantly over the past few decades. Now, with many experts in these fields approaching retirement age, action is needed to avoid a workforce gap in these critical fields, for example by building student interest in these careers, expanding the educational capacity of universities and colleges, and providing more specific on-the-job training.
Nuclear and Radiochemistry (NRC) is mostly being taught at university level, usually first at the Master- and PhD-degree level. In Europe, as substantial effort is being done to harmonize and prepare the NRC education for the industrys and societys future needs. This effort is being coordinated in a project funded by the Coordinated Action supported by the European Atomic Energy Community's 7th Framework Program. Although NucWik is primarily aimed at teachers, anyone interested in nuclear and radiochemistry is welcome and can find a lot of information and material explaining topics related to NRC.