HSNC University has launched Mumbai’s first School of Nuclear Science and Technology, introducing BSc and MSc programmes aimed at training professionals for the nuclear sector and expanding the city’s academic links with major atomic research institutions.
The school began functioning in phases during the inauguration of the Indian Nuclear Society conference at the university’s Worli campus. HSNC University vice-chancellor Hemlata Bagla told the Times of India that the institution had “gone critical”, a nuclear-sector term used in this context to mean that it had started operations in phases.
Bagla said the school would offer undergraduate and postgraduate courses and strengthen the scientific foundation available to students seeking careers in nuclear science and related fields. She said the initiative came at a time of growing interest in the nuclear sector and would open new professional opportunities.
The university already has a nuclear radiochemistry department at KC College, established on October 10, 1997. Bagla said the new school builds on that academic base and takes the university further into radiochemistry and nuclear science education.
The school plans to collaborate with institutions in and around Mumbai, including the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, the Department of Atomic Energy and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. The university will also seek collaboration with international organisations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to Bagla.
The launch places the university within Mumbai’s long-established nuclear research and regulatory ecosystem. The city hosts major institutions connected to India’s atomic energy programme, while the new school is intended to create a formal academic pathway for students entering the sector. The university has not publicly specified the number of seats, the course commencement schedule or the detailed curriculum in the information available for this report.
Former Atomic Energy Commission chairperson Anil Kakodkar, who delivered the presidential address at the conference, described the 100 GW Nuclear Energy Mission as an ambitious initiative that was still at an early stage. He said India would need access to three or four times more energy than it currently uses to improve quality of life, and argued that nuclear power would be essential to meeting that demand.
Kakodkar also highlighted the importance of uranium in India’s nuclear energy programme. Referring to the Shanti Act passed in December 2025, he said the legislation enabled research and development involving different reactor technologies, including micro reactors and fusion reactors, with participation from a larger number of people.
He said implementation of the Act would require an intermediary agency, identifying the Indian Nuclear Society as an institution that could contribute to capacity building and certification. Kakodkar added that the Society would need to expand its role beyond public outreach and play a more active part in developing India’s nuclear ecosystem.
For HSNC University, the immediate next steps are to operationalise the BSc and MSc programmes and develop collaborations with national and international nuclear institutions. Further details on admissions, course structure and the school’s formal partnership arrangements are yet to be announced.
