Scientific and academic partners allow the MAI to carry out fundamental scientific studies and provide expertise and help to improve the quality and credibility of the research results. Scientific partners are brought together through the MAI Scientific Network, MAI-SN.

This network consists of 18 partners, including prominent universities from the USA, Japan, UK and France as well as several research institutes.

The purpose of the MAI-SN is to create a strong and permanent link between academic researchers and the MAI. This link fosters the development of a shared knowledge base with a focus on methods and approaches required to address the scientific questions on aging of materials involving metallurgy, mechanical properties, chemistry, applied mathematics and numerical modelling, to name a few.

Scientific seminars and workshops are organized on a regular basis allowing partners to share perspectives, information on new developments and innovations in the field of materials behaviour.

These meetings between EDF experts and academics contribute significantly to several purposes of a nuclear operator. The intersection of ideas and exchanges between experts, relevant technical and pave the way for innovation and industrial progress. This requires knowledge of the physical processes responsible for the degradation mechanisms of materials. Among other channels, the MAI-SN allows, through technical exchanges and training, increase the quality and credibility of the results that its members put forward.