To provide the opportunity to exchange knowledge and to provide training in the necessary skills for working underground and for the safe disposal of radioactive waste in general, Nagra established the Grimsel Training Centre (GTC) in 2017, as a permanent platform.
Facing the long-lasting programmes of the radioactive waste management, training the next generation of radioactive waste management scientists was identified by many organisations as one major challenge for the next few years and decades.
To meet the various needs of training and knowledge transfer, the GTC team developed a programme which allows both tailor-made and established courses repeated every two or three years. Also, the combination of more theoretical lectures and hands-on training renders this programme very attractive for various levels of experience and expertise. High quality and relevance of the courses is achieved by involving lecturers from the GTS partner organisations.
Corrosion - Microbiology - Gases in Radioactive Waste Systems
21.09.2026 - 25.09.2026, Wettingen & Grimsel Test Site (GTS)
Nagra offers a 5-day workshop on the role of "Corrosion - Microbiology - Gases in Radioactive Waste Systems and a Deep Geological Repository".
To provide participants with an integrated understanding of how microbial processes, corrosion, and gas generation interact in radioactive waste systems, how these processes are investigated experimentally and modelled, and how they ultimately inform performance assessment and safety cases for geological disposal.
Learning Outcomes / by the end of the summer school, participants will:
- Understand why corrosion microbiology and gas generation are safety-relevant
- Grasp fundamental processes and interactions
- Get familiar with experimental and modelling approaches
- Awareness for uncertainties and scaling challenges
- Understanding on how these topics contribute to performance assessment and safety cases
Programme
General lecture hours from 09:00 am to 5:00 pm
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Day 1
|
Context, Objectives, and Fundamentals |
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Day 2 |
Assessment Basis |
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Day 3 |
Visit Grimsel Test Site (GTS) – Nagra’s own underground laboratory up at the Grimsel mountains |
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Day 4 |
Modelling |
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Day 5 |
Scenarios, Performance Assessment and Safety Case |
Date
Monday, 21 September 2026 until
Friday, 25 September 2026
Location:
Nagra's Headquarters, Wettingen, CH & Grimsel Test Site (GTS)
Costs:
CHF 3750.– (incl. Coffee & Lunch, lecturers, courseware, 1 course dinner, field trip to the GTS)
(excl. travel, accommodation, further dinners)
Accommodation:
We are happy to support you to organise appropriate accommodation or local transportation if desired. Hotels in Baden
Requirements:
Participants shall bring their own laptop.
Registration:
The expected number of participants is between 8 and 10. Please note that in the case of not reaching the minimum number of participants the course will not take place.
Dimensions matter! Geological data integration across scales
28.09.2026 - 2.10.2026, Wettingen & Grimsel Test Site (GTS)
Nagra offers a 4-day workshop on the key role of strategic geological data collection, integration and modelling across various scales, to support Site Selection for a Deep Geological Repository.
The course aims to impart “hands-on” practical knowledge, with specific focus on processes and lessons learned from the Swiss Programme. The acquired skills shall provide a suite of tools to support the participants in planning and carrying out site selection programmes in their own countries.
Focus of the workshop is to promote exchange among participants and with Nagra Tutors. Participants will meet and share experience with Nagra’s Project Managers directly involved in the work with geological data along and beyond the Site Selection process.
Programme
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Day 1
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Key geological information along site selection, Geosynthesis, long-term landscape evolution |
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Day 2 |
Subsurface interpretation (e.g. borehole log data, seismics), geological data integration and 3D modelling |
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Day 3 |
Regional hydrogeological models, lessons learned from site selection to project development, introduction in data management |
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Day 4 |
Focus on data management, breakout session on data management |
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Day 5 |
Optional visit at Grimsel Test Site, Nagra’s own underground laboratory up at the Grimsel mountains |
Date
Monday, 28 September 2026 until
Friday, 2 October 2026
Location:
Nagra's Headquarters, Wettingen, CH
Costs:
CHF 3750.– (incl. Coffee & Lunch, lecturers, courseware, 1 course dinner, field trip to the GTS)
(excl. travel, accommodation, further dinners)
Accommodation:
We are happy to support you to organise appropriate accommodation or local transportation if desired. Hotels in Baden
Requirements:
Participants shall bring their own laptop.
Registration:
The expected number of participants is between 8 and 10. Please note that in the case of not reaching the minimum number of participants the course will not take place.
Optional:
Field visit to the Grimsel Test Site on the 2 October 2026 (Friday): Clothing should be adequate for an Autumn mountainous regional environment. Temperature in the GTS is 14°C.
CHF 250.-