About IFCEN

　　With the rise of civilian nuclear energy worldwide and the accelerated development of nuclear power projects, the Chinese and French governments aimed to establish a high-level educational institution in the field of civilian nuclear energy. Utilizing both sides' educational resources, the institution would cultivate highly qualified engineers to apply nuclear energy in civilian fields, participate in the construction and ensure the operation of nuclear power plants, and provide solid intellectual support for economic and social development. With the rapid development of the nuclear power and related new energy industries, China's demand for talents in new energy fields such as nuclear power has become increasingly urgent. Guangdong Province is a major energy consumer, with fossil energy as the main source of consumption, which has also brought significant environmental pollution. Accelerating the development of nuclear power and increasing the proportion of nuclear power in Guangdong's energy supply is beneficial to changing the province's over-reliance on conventional energy sources such as coal, oil, and gas, and reducing energy supply risks. The significant development of nuclear power has important strategic significance for ensuring the energy security and economic security of Guangdong Province and even the entire Pearl River Delta region.

In this context, with the support of the Ministry of Education and relevant French government departments, Sun Yat-sen University, combining the industrial advantages of the province and the discipline strengths and excellent teaching and research experience of its School of Engineering, signed a cooperation agreement with FINUCIin the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, jointly establishing Institut Franco-Chinois de l'Energie Nucléaire, IFCEN. The agreement introduced France's advanced experience in nuclear engineering education, strong research capabilities, and industry resources, forming a system for cultivating high-level nuclear engineering and technology talents and developing technology in South China, serving the rapidly developing nuclear industry and contributing to local economic and social development.

FINUCIincludes Institut  National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INP-Grenoble), CEA - Institut National des Sciences et Techniques Nucléaire(INSTN), École Nationale Supérieure Mines-Télécom Atlantique Bretagne Pays De La Loire(IMT Atlantique), Ecole Nationae Superieure de Chimies de Montpellie (ENSCM), and École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris (ENSCP). The French side has a high degree of initiative and resource allocation capability, and is a leader in France in terms of teaching, research, and industry strength.

Since 2006, after years of active negotiations, both sides have determined the basic model and related management methods for the operation of IFCEN. On December 21, 2009, witnessed by the Prime Ministers of China and France, Sun Yat-sen University signed an official cooperation agreement with FINUCIled by INP-Grenoble. IFCEN officially enrolled its first students in September 2010, with each cohort consisting of 100-120 students. Over the past decade, China and France have closely cooperated around discipline construction, talent cultivation, and scientific research, fully utilizing the rich nuclear energy industry resources and large-scale scientific facilities in Guangdong Province, achieving a series of significant scientific research and educational results, and cultivating more than 460 outstanding nuclear engineers for China's nuclear energy field, receiving high evaluations from domestic and international academic peers and employers.

In 2016, IFCEN obtained international accreditation from CTI and EUR-ACE, marking that IFCEN 's educational level had reached the excellence of French and European education. In June 2016, IFCEN was awarded the "Excellent Sino-French University Cooperation Project"中法大学合作优秀项目by the Chinese and French governments, playing a positive demonstration role in promoting Sino-French cooperation in education. In 2022, IFCEN passed the CTI accreditation again, with the French Commission for Engineering Titles granting IFCEN a CTI qualification for the longest possible duration of six years.

IFCEN fully utilizes the advantages of nuclear energy industry resources and scientific research cooperation between China and France, establishing more than 20 internships bases at home and abroad, cultivating nuclear engineers through close cooperation with enterprises and universities. The master's graduates trained have received high evaluations and appreciation from employers such as CGN and EDF. From 2016 to 2022, a total of 462 master's graduates from seven sessions of Sino-French cooperation were trained, with most of them working in the nuclear energy industry, contributing to the development of the national nuclear energy. Approximately 24% of them chose to pursue further studies. Among the employed master's graduates, 80% signed contracts with nuclear energy enterprises and institutions, such as China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center, Électricite De France(EDF), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), Nuclear Power Institute of China(NPIC) and Southwestern Institute of Physics(SWIP), and first-line nuclear power plants such as Daya Bay, Taishan, and Yangjiang.

Currently, IFCEN has five degree authorization points: a master's program in the first-level discipline of "Nuclear Science and Technology", a professional master's program in "Energy and Power", a doctoral program in the first-level discipline of "Nuclear Science and Technology", a doctoral program in the second-level discipline of "Nuclear Engineering Mechanics", and a doctoral program in "Energy and Power Engineering" approved in 2022. IFCEN has established a systematic and comprehensive discipline system. In 2018, it won the first prize of the Guangdong Province Education and Teaching Achievement Award, and in 2019, it was approved as a national first-class bachelor major construction point (New Engineering "Double First-Class Plan").

Under the first-level discipline of Nuclear Science and Technology, IFCEN has established 5 complete second-level discipline directions, including "Nuclear Energy Science and Engineering", "Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials", "Nuclear Technology and Applications", "Radiation Protection and Environmental Protection", and the discipline direction of "Nuclear Data Science and Applications" supporting the development of nuclear energy/nuclear technology research. Based on the university's key research platform of "Nuclear Safety and Technology", IFCEN has developed "6+N" research directions and high-level research teams.

IFCEN has established two provincial-level bases and four research centers, including the Guangdong Province International Science and Technology Cooperation Base for Nuclear Engineering and Technology (2010), the Guangdong Province Engineering Technology Research Center for Nuclear Safety and Emergency Technology (2015), the Joint Research Center for Nuclear Power Safety and Emergency of Sun Yat-sen University and China General Nuclear Power Corporation (2014), and the "Neutron Detection Technology and Applications Joint Laboratory" of Sun Yat-sen University and the China Spallation Neutron Source (2016). IFCEN has built a group of nuclear safety and emergency laboratories covering more than 3,000 square meters, becoming the only international cooperation research and development platform in the field of nuclear safety and emergency in South China. In terms of international cooperation, in 2014, the university signed a cooperation research and development agreement with the CEA-led FINUCIand EDF, carrying out in-depth international scientific research cooperation.

Based on the university's key research platform of "Nuclear Safety and Technology," after ten years of development, IFCEN has established research directions in reactor high-fidelity simulation and simulation, reactor thermohydraulics, nuclear materials and mechanics, nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry, nuclear environmental radiation monitoring and emergency, nuclear detection and detectors, advanced accelerators, reactor structural mechanics fluid-structure interaction, advanced nuclear energy engineering (including fourth-generation reactors and fusion reactors), particle physics and nuclear physics, among others. In the future, IFCEN will further consolidate and develop its research strength on this basis, expand emerging research directions in nuclear energy and nuclear technology, and cultivate nuclear energy engineers and academic talents to meet social needs.

During the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" period, IFCEN achieved a doubling of its faculty, forming a team of professional innovative teachers with international vision. Currently, IFCEN focuses on key scientific issues and national major strategic needs in the fields of nuclear energy, nuclear technology, and nuclear physics, fully leveraging the advantages of comprehensive Sino-French cooperation, and utilizing the high-quality nuclear energy and nuclear technology industry resources of Guangdong Province. It strives to build itself into a first-class domestic and internationally renowned base for nuclear energy and nuclear technology research and development, and the cultivation of nuclear energy talents.