8-10th May, 2012, Solothurn, Switzerland

Online course registration is available here.

This short 3 day course is presented by the ITC-School and is designed for anyone with an interest in the utilisation of natural and archaeological analogues in waste disposal, whether they are working directly in the area or on other aspects of deep geological disposal. This is a novel short course looking at chosen aspects of the use of analogues and looks at both natural and archaeological (sometimes called anthropological) examples.

The 3 day course for 2012 includes:

1. Lectures on the fundamentals of using information from nature’s laboratories in support of radioactive waste disposal, with examples on near- and far-field processes, integration with laboratory and underground rock laboratory data and overviews of some of the major national analogue studies of the last two decades. One module will use Argumentation Network software in a structured brainstorming session to explore ‘what makes a good analogue?’
2. One extended session will encourage a more active role for the participants: designing a national communication campaign using data from natural and archaeological analogues. These will then be presented and discussed with tutors and other participants from around the world.
3. The final part of the course focusses on using natural and archaeological data in an integrated safety assessment – what to do and what not to do – and looks at the uses of analogues in complementary evaluations of repository safety.

The course is ideal for those involved in any component of a national waste programme who are looking to learn how to utilise information from both nature and archaeology to improve our understanding of the long-term development of a repository and who are open to finding ways of improving public confidence in our ability to safely dispose of radioactive waste.

Sufficient time will be allocated for questions and discussions in each presentation module and the tutors will be on-hand over coffee, at lunch and in the evening to answer more detailed questions.

Course participants will stay at the Hotel Roter Turm in the old centre of Solothurn

While the course is ideal for those involved in any component of a national waste disposal programme, the main focus is on those staff working on a geological repository, whether this be for radioactive waste disposal or CO2 sequestration. The course should be attended by participants from a wide range of stakeholders in sectors such as national/provincial level decision-making authorities, implementing and regulating organisations, research organisations and universities, including both member and non-member organisations of the ITC-School.

In addition to formal teaching, each course participant is required to prepare a short pre-assignment related to the course. The purpose of the assignment is that the participants devise a specific natural analogue-related topic to focus on during the course (see details and application form below).

Course Location

The course will be held in the impressive 18th century Hotel Roter Turm (see http://www.roterturm.ch/en-hotel.html) in the beautiful baroque town of Solothurn in north Switzerland. Solothurn is easily accessible by train from Zürich (3 times an hour), Basel (twice hourly) and Geneva (hourly) airports (see http://www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm for details) and the hotel is a short walk across the impressive River Aare from the railway station. Alternatively, Solothurn lies just off the main A1 motorway linking Zürich and Bern-Geneva and several covered parking areas are within walking distance from the hotel (see http://www.roterturm.ch/karte.php?karte=stadt for details).

Course Organiser

The course is organised by the ITC-School (www.itc-school.org)

Teaching

The course will be held in an informal, workshop atmosphere and participants will be encouraged to interact and question at all times. Each course topic will be taught by highly qualified and internationally recognised specialists from around the world. They will provide the most up to date and comprehensive information and discussions. Course materials will be provided for each topic. Modules will generally be taught throughout the day, with an extended lunch break. In addition, the course tutors will be present at dinner and afterwards in the hotel for free discussion and information exchange. The course language is English and course materials are printed in English.

Participants’ profile – is this course for you ?

The course is ideal for those involved in any component of a national waste programme and who have a desire to learn about all aspects of using natural and archaeological analogues in geological disposal. While some background in either radioactive or chemo-toxic waste is useful, the modules have been so designed as to ensure that any participant who currently only has a rough idea of what a natural analogue is or how they are used in waste disposal, will profit from this course. A basic grasp of geological waste disposal is required, but more important is a genuine interest in being involved in natural analogue-related issues in waste disposal. If you are unsure if this course is for you, please feel free to contact the course director, Russell Alexander ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ), for an informal chat.

To help you to get the most out of this course, we would like you to produce a short pre-course assignment. But don’t worry, we are not asking you for much effort, just a little thought in advance of attending the course which will focus your thinking and give us an insight into your requirements. And don’t worry if you cannot express yourself fluently, this is not a test, rather it is simply intended to help us get to know you a bit in advance. In return, you will be given the course tutors’ CVs when you start the course.

The Course Assignment can be found at the bottom of the application form and should be returned by 6th April, 2012.

Course Fees

The course fees directly cover tuition, course notes, room and equipment hire and other materials. The accommodation, breakfast, lunch, dinner and morning and afternoon refreshments for three days (arriving Monday 7th May, departing Thursday 10th May after the course), plus a course dinner and a welcome reception are charged separately.

CHF3290- ITC Members. This total is split between

• accommodation, food and course refreshments – CHF590
• ITC course fee – CHF2700

CHF3590- non-members. This total is split between

• accommodation, food and course refreshments – CHF590
• ITC course fee – CHF3000

If anyone would like to stay in the hotel on the Thursday night (10th), this will cost an additional CHF120.

Final deadline for registration is 30th March, 2012. The course fee is due within four weeks of your registration and registration is not guaranteed until we have received the course fee. If you have to withdraw from the course after paying your fee, it will be refunded in full up to 6th April, 2012. After this date, it is not refundable.

Application form

You can register on-line using the registration form. The number of places is limited, so we would advise you to register early.

Insurance

Please note that participants on this course, or their employing organisations, are responsible for their own personal insurance.

Course Programme

Download the Course Programme PDF: Natural_Analogues_Solothurn_2012.pdf ( 37 kb PDF)

Geological Society of London

The ITC is directly associated with the CPD training scheme of the Geological Society of London (GSL – see http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/gsl/op/www%3C/page1.html) and periodically runs courses which have been endorsed by the GSL. These enable Fellows of the GSL to earn credits towards their CPD and offer them a 10% discount on the normal registration fee. This course is currently under consideration by the GSL and the results will be posted soon.

And finally….

Course Assignment – please email to Christine Wiestner ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) by 6th April, 2012 with ‘Natural Analogue 2012’ in the subject line.
• why have you chosen this course?
• what are your learning objectives for the course?
• what other objectives do you have for the course?
• tell us a little (a couple of sentences) about your educational and professional background
• tell us a little about your current job – and about any relevant projects you are currently working on or have recently completed. How do these relate to the use of natural analogues in waste disposal?
• if not covered in the previous question, what is your previous experience in the use of natural and archaeological analogues in general and in the field of waste disposal in particular?
• is there any specific area of the geological disposal of radioactive waste where you expect to increase your knowledge by the end of the course?

-pick at least one topic bearing in mind that this should be your ‘guiding theme’ during the course
-how is this topic relevant to your disposal system?
-what is already known about the topic?
-what more do you need to know on the topic?

As an outcome of the course, we expect you to prepare a short note (a couple of paragraphs will be sufficient) on how you are going address your topic using the additional knowledge gained during the course – this will help both you and us assess if we have addressed your training requirements appropriately.