Course in Ethics in Nuclear Cycle Management
Online course of 300 h in ethics in nuclear cycle management. 6 modules covering IAEA SF-1 (Fundamental Safety Principles), the Euratom Treaty (1957) and NVivo. Personal tutor assigned and enrolment open.
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Run a real engineering trade-off from this field. Move the sliders, watch the model react in real time and beat the challenge.
What you will be able to do
Apply ethical frameworks to nuclear energy.
Analyse the ethical decisions at the start of the cycle: mining and enrichment.
Evaluate the dilemmas of operation and facility safety.
Assess obligations to the future in radioactive waste management.
Design participation and communication processes for decisions across the cycle.
Interpret the IAEA's Fundamental Safety Principles.
Produce an integrated ethical analysis of one stage of the nuclear cycle.
Who it's for
- Energy policy analyst who wants to specialise in Ethics in Nuclear Cycle Management.
- Engineering ethics consultant who wants to specialise in Ethics in Nuclear Cycle Management.
- Energy administration officer who wants to specialise in Ethics in Nuclear Cycle Management.
- Institutional relations manager who wants to specialise in Ethics in Nuclear Cycle Management.
- Researcher in energy ethics who wants to specialise in Ethics in Nuclear Cycle Management.
- Nuclear safety manager who wants to specialise in Ethics in Nuclear Cycle Management.
- Engineering or science graduates looking to enter nuclear power generation.
What you'll work with
- IAEA SF-1 (Fundamental Safety Principles)
- Euratom Treaty (1957)
- Convention on Nuclear Safety (1994)
- Directive 2014/87/Euratom (nuclear safety)
- Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management
- Law 25/1964 on nuclear energy
- ICRP 138 (ethical foundations of radiological protection)
6 modules · 300 h
1.1What ethics contributes to a technical decision1.2Vocabulary: values, principles and dilemmas1.3Risk, uncertainty and ignorance1.4Acceptability of risk and who decides it1.5Collective benefit and localised harm1.6The precautionary principle and its versions1.7Individual and organisational responsibility1.8The engineer's professional ethics1.9Structured deliberation frameworks1.10Exercise: identifying the values in conflict in a case
2.1Uranium mining and affected communities2.2Working conditions in the supply chain2.3Dependence and energy sovereignty2.4Environmental impact of conversion and enrichment2.5International trade and the buyer's responsibility2.6Supply chain transparency2.7Ethical purchasing criteria2.8Social audit of suppliers2.9Compensation for producing territories2.10Practice: a responsible purchasing code
3.1How far to invest in safety: optimisation as a moral decision3.2Monetary value assigned to averted dose3.3Sharing risk between workers and the public3.4Extending the life of a facility3.5Transparency about incidents and findings3.6Economic pressure on safety3.7Independence of the regulator3.8Professional conscientious objection and whistleblowing3.9Safety culture as an ethical obligation3.10Practice: deliberating an investment decision
4.1Burden imposed on future generations4.2Reversibility and freedom of future decision-making4.3Siting choice and territorial equity4.4Compensation for the host community4.5Adequacy of management funds4.6Passing information on to the future4.7Waste export and responsibility4.8Unfulfilled technological promises4.9Long-term accountability4.10Practice: an opinion on a management decision
5.1The right to information and its scope5.2Legitimate secrecy versus transparency5.3Honest communication of uncertainty5.4Genuine public participation and token participation5.5The role of the scientific community5.6Conflicts of interest in advisory work5.7Public debate on energy and climate5.8Comparing risks across technologies5.9Education and academic responsibility5.10Practice: designing a legitimate decision-making process
6.1Choosing a real decision from the sector6.2Technical description and context6.3Identifying those affected and the values at stake6.4Analysis of the conflicting arguments6.5Evaluation of alternatives6.6Reasoned proposal and conditions of acceptability6.7Transparency and participation plan6.8Review mechanisms6.9Report on the ethical analysis6.10Defence of the work
How you'll learn
100 % online training on the SEIUM campus, with downloadable material, recorded classes and an assigned technical tutor. No fixed timetable: students progress at their own pace within the intake, which makes it possible to combine the course with work.
Each module combines theory, guided reading of the original standard and applied exercises. The working software is NVivo, advanced Excel, Miro, Zotero, in free, academic or evaluation versions. Case studies are based on real ethical analysis procedures by stage of the fuel cycle, case studies of nuclear policy decisions, and structured debate on cycle options. Assessment is continuous by module, plus the final integrative project.
Build it end to end
Your final project follows the real engineering workflow, step by step, reviewed by your tutor.
Apply ethical frameworks to nuclear energy.
Analyse the ethical decisions at the start of the cycle: mining and enrichment.
Evaluate the dilemmas of operation and facility safety.
Assess obligations to the future in radioactive waste management.
Design participation and communication processes for decisions across the cycle.
Where this takes you
Requirements
- No prior qualification is required.
- Internet connection and a computer capable of running the programme's software.
- Sufficient level of Spanish to follow technical regulatory texts.
Ready to start?
Send your application today. Our admissions team replies within 72 hours with your study plan and funding options.
Frequently asked questions
The programme consists of 300 hours in total, spread over 3 to 5 months. That is between 10 and 15 hours per week on average, compatible with a full-time job.
You work with NVivo, advanced Excel, Miro and Zotero. Free, academic or evaluation versions are used, and the tutor indicates the free alternative where one exists.
An SEIUM in-house diploma on passing the continuous assessment and the integrative project. It is in-house training, not an official Ministry qualification.
Yes. Modules passed in a course or postgraduate diploma in the same area are recognised in the advanced programme. Check the recognition policy when you enrol.
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