The United Kingdom's Experience in Developing and Delivering Physical Protection Workshops

Abstract

This paper discusses the development and delivery of a workshop on the “Fundamentals of Physical Protection”, which has been run since the early 1990s, as part of the UK’s Global Threat Reduction Programme (GTRP). Over the years, the workshop has brought together a wide range of international practitioners – from operators, regulators and government bodies to share their nuclear security knowledge and experiences. The objectives and structure of the workshop are outlined, followed by a discussion of challenges encountered and how these were overcome. Here the educational benefits of different teaching tools in delivering physical protection training will also be explored. It is argued that to build on the solid conceptual foundation for physical protection outlined in the IAEA Nuclear Security Series guidance document it is important to utilise real-life case studies and a range of interactive teaching methods. As these enable participants to internalise key concepts and explore their practical application.