UK universities launch doctoral training centre for fusion engineers

A NEW training centre is being launched by UK universities to train the next generation of fusion engineers.

The Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Fusion Engineering will start educating its first cohort of STEM postgraduates in September. The programme is led by the universities of Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, and Birmingham in partnership with the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).

Students who go through the four-year programme will be trained by academia and industry, working on real-world fusion engineering challenges to earn a Doctor of Engineering (EngD) qualification.

The doctoral projects will address ten key themes: advanced manufacture, artificial intelligence, computation, construction, control, maintenance, modelling, qualification, safety, and simulation.

Lee Margetts, UKAEA chair in digital engineering for fusion energy at the University of Manchester and the fusion training centre’s principal investigator, said: “Students recruited into the Fusion Engineering CDT are expected to work in the fusion industry sector for the next 40 years, where they will face huge challenges and knowledge gaps, at a scale we’ve never encountered before.”

Efforts are already underway to develop fusion in the UK. Just last week, the UKAEA announced a partnership with Eni to build the world’s most advanced tritium fuel cycle pilot plant.

In a statement, the centre said its training programme will support students in achieving Chartered Engineer (CEng) status within a few years of qualifying. To make the programme accessible for candidates across STEM disciplines, the training will begin with three months of foundational fusion engineering.

Margetts added: “With training delivered by world-leading experts, we’re creating a workforce with the skills to design, build, and operate fusion power plants – who are able to make an immediate contribution.”

For more information: www.fusion-engineering-cdt.ac.uk/