Introductory Training for Station Operators and National Data Centres Managers is held in Vienna

The Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) held an introductory training course for International Monitoring System (IMS) station operators and National Data Centres (NDC) managers. The training, which was a joint initiative of the International Monitoring System (IMS) and the International Data Centre (IDC) Divisions of the PTS, was attended by 50 participants from 38 Member States. The aim of the training was to familiarize station operators and NDC managers with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the global verification regime that will monitor compliance with the Treaty. The presentations and discussions focused on a range of themes, including political and legal aspects of the Treaty, CTBTO verification technologies, the Global Communication Infrastructure, network operation, data processing and archiving, as well as the cooperation between the IDC and the National Data Centres. The training also provided for the demonstration of specific equipment used at IMS stations. In complementary training courses, NDC managers from seven least developed countries receive specialized training in Finland on the operation of National Data Centres. This part of the programme was sponsored by the Finnish Government in support of the PTS's activities in training NDC personnel. Ten station operators attend a five-day technical training programme in Austria focusing on the radionuclide monitoring technology with emphasis on manually operated radionuclide stations. The PTS offers introductory training courses and specialized technical training opportunities for station operators and NDC staff on a regular basis. Future IMS/IDC training events are listed on the CTBTO public web site under "Opportunities".