Ethics in Intergenerational Waste Management Course
Online 300-hour course in ethics in intergenerational waste management. 6 modules covering IAEA SF-1 (Fundamental Safety Principles), the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management and Zotero. Assigned tutor and open enrolment.
Ethics in Intergenerational Waste Management Course — studying from South Africa
South Africa is one of the few African countries with an operating nuclear power programme, centred on the Koeberg power station near Cape Town, operated by Eskom. The country also has nuclear research and fuel cycle activity through the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, known as Necsa, based at Pelindaba near Pretoria. Nuclear engineers work on reactor operation, safety, fuel management and decommissioning. The National Nuclear Regulator is the independent authority that licenses and oversees nuclear activities.
Fees for South Africa: R 10 200 (South African rand), with instalments and employer sponsorship available.
Relevant bodies in South Africa
Typical roles
Questions from South Africa
Will a SEIUM qualification be recognised by the professional bodies in South Africa for this area?
SEIUM qualifications are private and not accredited by any South African body, so they are not official state degrees. Nuclear activities in South Africa are regulated by the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR), and professional registration runs through ECSA. Acceptance of a private qualification in this regulated field rests with employers or the relevant authority, so verify before enrolling.
How might this qualification be used by employers in South Africa in nuclear engineering?
Nuclear employers, including Eskom and specialist contractors, typically require formally recognised qualifications, security clearances and regulatory competence. A private SEIUM qualification may add background knowledge but is unlikely to meet formal requirements on its own. Discuss this with employers in the nuclear sector to understand how they would view it.
Can I study this programme alongside full-time work from South Africa, and is there a time zone or language issue?
The programme is fully online and taught in English, so you can study from South Africa without a student visa. Master's programmes require 1,900 hours, postgraduate diplomas 800 hours and specialist courses 300 hours, with an assigned technical tutor. Fees can be paid in instalments and employer sponsorship is possible. Ask SEIUM about time-zone and workload details before enrolling.
Take the controls.
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
Analyse time as a moral problem in waste management.
Compare ethical theories on obligations to future generations.
Evaluate concrete sector decisions, such as retrievability.
Assess territorial equity and public participation.
Translate ethical principles into durable policies and institutions.
Interpret the normative principles on future generations.
Produce an ethical analysis of a waste management policy.
Who it's for
- Environmental ethics researcher who wants to specialise in Ethics in Intergenerational Waste Management.
- Radioactive waste policy adviser who wants to specialise in Ethics in Intergenerational Waste Management.
- Public participation officer who wants to specialise in Ethics in Intergenerational Waste Management.
- Waste management analyst who wants to specialise in Ethics in Intergenerational Waste Management.
- Long-term governance specialist who wants to specialise in Ethics in Intergenerational Waste Management.
- Philosophy of technology lecturer who wants to specialise in Ethics in Intergenerational Waste Management.
- Engineering or science graduates seeking to enter radioactive waste management.
What you'll work with
- IAEA SF-1 (Fundamental Safety Principles)
- Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management
- Directive 2011/70/Euratom (management of spent fuel and radioactive waste)
- UNESCO Declaration on the Responsibilities of the Present Generations towards Future Generations (1997)
- ICRP 122 (radiological protection in geological disposal)
- ICRP 138 (ethical foundations of radiological protection)
- Royal Decree 102/2014 (management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste)
6 modules · 300 h
1.1Time scales of waste and of institutions1.2What we owe to those who do not yet exist1.3Obligations towards unknown people1.4The concept of undue burden1.5Present benefit and future risk1.6Discounting the future and its ethical critique1.7Irreversibility of decisions1.8Precaution versus paralysis1.9Vocabulary of intergenerational ethics1.10Exercise: formulating the duty in a concrete case
2.1Utilitarian approach and the sum of well-being2.2Rights and justice approach2.3Theory of justice applied across generations2.4Capabilities and decent minimums2.5Ethics of care and responsibility2.6Arguments for strong and weak sustainability2.7The non-identity paradox2.8Environmental ethics and the value of nature2.9Limits of each approach2.10Debate: which approach best guides the decision
3.1Storing versus final disposal3.2Reversibility and retrievability as values3.3Leaving the decision to the next generation: virtue or evasion3.4Separation and transmutation as a technological promise3.5Sufficiency of financial funds3.6Transfer of responsibility to the State3.7Institutional surveillance and its fragility3.8Markers, archives and site memory3.9Export of waste to another country3.10Practice: deliberating on reversibility
4.1Who bears the facility and who benefits4.2Host communities and compensation4.3Compensation as repair or as purchase4.4Informed consent of a community4.5Right of veto and its scope4.6Participation of young generations4.7Representation of future interests in the decision4.8Transparency and access to information4.9Long-term institutional trust4.10Practice: designing a fair decision-making process
5.1Translating ethical principles into regulatory requirements5.2Dose criteria over hundreds of thousands of years5.3The regulator's role as guarantor of the future5.4Ethics committees in the sector5.5Ethics training for technical staff5.6Accountability and review of commitments5.7Intergenerational performance indicators5.8Long-term knowledge management5.9International reference documents5.10Practice: drafting principles for an organisation
6.1Choosing the decision to analyse6.2Identifying present and future stakeholders6.3Analysis of the conflicting arguments6.4Evaluation of the available alternatives6.5Reasoned proposal and its conditions6.6Reversibility and review mechanisms6.7Participation and transparency plan6.8Memory transmission plan6.9Report 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 timetables: students progress at their own pace within the enrolment period, which makes it possible to fit the course around work.
Each module combines theory, guided reading of the original standard and applied exercises. The working software is Zotero, NVivo, Miro, advanced Excel, in free, academic or evaluation versions. Case studies draw on real ethical debate procedures on retrievability and reversibility, analysis of site selection processes, and comparative study of national policies. Assessment is continuous, module 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.
Analyse time as a moral problem in waste management.
Compare ethical theories on obligations to future generations.
Evaluate concrete sector decisions, such as retrievability.
Assess territorial equity and public participation.
Translate ethical principles into durable policies and institutions.
Where this takes you
Requirements
- No prior degree is required.
- Internet connection and a computer capable of running the programme's software.
- Sufficient Spanish to follow technical regulatory reading.
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 comprises 300 hours in total, spread over 3 to 5 months. That is an average of 10 to 15 hours per week, compatible with a full-time job.
You work with Zotero, NVivo, Miro and advanced Excel. Free, academic or evaluation versions are used, and the tutor indicates the free alternative where one exists.
A SEIUM own diploma upon 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 towards the advanced programme. Please check the recognition policy when you enrol.
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