Moscow, 26th March 2025 – Hemangi Shrivastava, an Indian student pursuing her Master’s degree in Electronics and Nano electronics at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MPEI), has been awarded the prestigious Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme (MSCFP) for women in nuclear science. MPEI is one of the flagship institutions under Rosatom’s core and partner university network.
Originally from India, Hemangi chose to specialize 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 noted.
Speaking about her main motivation for applying to the MSCF program, Hemangi mentioned that in 2023, she attended the World Youth Festival in Sirius, Russia, organized by Rosatom, where “a very inspiring female Turkish professor explained how nuclear energy is in everything, a part of everything, even in light”. “I am grateful to Rosatom, to the IAEA and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship Program for this opportunity”, she added.
The MSCFP 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 is launched, 560 students from 121 countries have been selected from over 2,200 applications.
Rosatom has been a key partner of the IAEA’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship 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.
“The concept of human centricity is very important for Rosatom, which assumes that the greatest value is people. Within the framework of this concept, we pay great attention to human resources development for our partner countries, including girls from these countries who are already studying at Rosatom partner universities and seek to link their careers with the nuclear industry. We attach great importance to the fact that our values coincide with those of the 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 the Project Office for Education Development and International Cooperation of Rosatom, told about the experience of implementing the Marie Sklodowska Curie Fellowship Program in Russia.
The company has long aligned its strategy with the global sustainable development agenda. In 2020, it adopted a unified sectoral policy on sustainable development and joined the UN Global Compact—the largest global initiative for corporate social responsibility. Today, Rosatom is the largest producer of low-carbon electricity in Russia, generating approximately 20% of the nation’s power.