NEW DELHI: Hemangi Shrivastava, an Indian student pursuing her master’s degree in electronics and nano electronics at Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MPEI), has been awarded the prestigious Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme for women in nuclear science. MPEI is one of the flagship institutions under Russian Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom‘s core and partner university network.
Hemangi chose to specialise in illumination engineering and sources of light, an area she describes as the “perfect blend of science and art”. “It’s not directly related to nuclear science but is highly affected by nuclear energy. The cheaper and easier the access is to electricity in a country, the more illuminated its streets are,” Hemangi said.
Speaking about her main motivation for applying to the MSCF programme, she said in 2023, she attended World Youth Festival in Sirius, Russia, organised by Rosatom, where “a very inspiring female Turkish professor explained how nuclear energy is in everything, a part of everything, even in light”.
The MSCF programme, supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was launched in 2020 to encourage more women to enter and thrive in the nuclear sector. The programme supports talented students pursuing nuclear-related studies at the master’s level year; one hundred and more young women scientists from all over the world become its fellows. Since the programme was launched, 560 students from 121 countries have been selected from over 2,200 applications.
Rosatom, which is the largest producer of low-carbon electricity in Russia and generating approximately 20% of the nation’s power, has been a key partner of IAEA’s MSCF programme, supporting around 40 female students from 17 countries over the past four years. This academic year, 12 students from their flagship universities across 10 countries, including Armenia, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe, received the scholarship, which covers tuition, internships, a monthly stipend and additional financial support from Rosatom.
“We attach great importance to the fact that our values coincide with those of IAEA, and we can work together to ensure that there are more bright and talented women in the nuclear sector who contribute to the development of nuclear technologies and increase trust to green nuclear energy,” Vera Upirova, senior manager of Project Office for Education Development and International Cooperation of Rosatom, said.