JT-60SA International Fusion School receives praise

The JT-60SA International Fusion School (JIFS) hosted by QST, Naka, Japan, was successfully concluded after giving the opportunity to ten students from Europe, and ten from Japan, to become more familiar with the latest fusion developments.  Thanks to financial support provided by QST, EUROfusion and F4E, the new generation of fusion experts was able to spend ten days in an international environment, learn from one another, and visit some prestigious facilities.

The rich in content programme provided students with lectures, news and updates, visits to JT-60SA and other QST facilities. These activities were complemented by practical exercises, carried out in smaller groups, and with presentations given by students. While most of the participants are currently working on their PhD theses, some have already embarked on a professional career.

According to the feedback received by the participants, all main objectives of the school have been achieved. The organisers managed to connect JT-60SA to the academic world; training was given in a truly international environment; links were created between the European and Japanese future partners in device exploitation; new knowledge and novel working methods were transmitted to the next generation of physicists, engineers, and tokamak operators.

In the closing session, students and lecturers were invited to identify the strong and weak points of this initiative. This analysis is expected to be completed in the next weeks through a written questionnaire. All in all, the JIFS first edition received praise. The general feeling was that this initiative should be organised on an annual basis in Japan and in Europe.