Irena Shaleva has achieved multiple WINS Academy certifications and worked at Sustainable Energy for All as well as the IAEA. We are delighted to name her one of our Distinguished Alumni! She shared her views on the role of certification in professional development and the importance of international knowledge sharing to promote nuclear security.
Which WINS Academy modules have you completed and how did you choose them?
I’ve completed Cybersecurity in the Nuclear Industry, Communicating with Civil Society, and Nuclear Security Incident Management. I was interested in developing myself in the field of emergency preparedness, which I believe requires a 360-degree approach based on clear procedures (Nuclear Incident Security Management and Cybersecurity) combined with soft skills (Communicating with Civil Society).
How does achieving certification support your professional development?
It gives me a strong foundation and an equal starting point with other professionals. It pushes me to be bold in my pursue of knowledge and confident to be an active participant of the nuclear security community.
“The WINS Academy made nuclear security accessible.”
How did your WINS Academy studies help develop your understanding of nuclear security?
The WINS Academy made nuclear security accessible, which is not a given. The scholarships the WINS Academy offers are an opportunity to fill the gap that keeps young professionals away from their potential. It helped me understand and digest topics that at a first glance can seem impossible, but just required the right sequence of information. Completing the modules gave me skills that I can share with others with extreme pleasure and confidence.
What advice do you have for successfully completing the WINS certification process?
Understand rather than memorise the material, do trial-and-error practice with the unit tests before the exam, and analyse your weaknesses as they need more focus and strengthening. Look at the units as a domino effect: The first one leads logically into the last one.
It’s not about the certificate; it’s about proving to yourself that you can understand a new topic and feel proud of yourself for how you can make your contribution with your newly acquired skills.
Why is knowledge sharing within the international nuclear security community important?
I’ve learned that we can practice our procedures for the deterministic aspect of the nuclear security field but nothing is 100% certain and stochastic events happen, so it’s important to be flexible, adaptable and ready to admit what we did well and what we didn’t. Knowledge sharing today means one less incident tomorrow; it’s about consciousness and professionalism.
“Knowledge sharing today means one less incident tomorrow.”
How does the involvement of women enhance nuclear security?
Women have an excellent analytical and creative way of seeing a problem from multiple perspectives and taking the actions needed. To not have them involved would be a loss for the nuclear security field.
