Fusion Academy Summer School 2026
Posted
By Frankie Hough
The week commencing 3rd August saw the University of Manchester host the first Fusion Academy Summer School: an outreach initiative created from scratch, developed and delivered by a team of 4 students from the fusion power and fusion engineering CDT. The project served as a bridge between the two CDTs offering its students the opportunity to develop their skills in project creation and management, whilst also building outreach and science communication skills through the development of lecture content and activities themed around nuclear fusion and its career pathways.
The programme had over 50 applicants for its first cohort and saw 17 students aged 13-16 from all across the greater manchester area come together for a week of taught content and workshops on why we need fusion and how it is possible to create a star on earth. The project also aimed to challenge stereotypes of how a scientist looks and what a scientist does day to day and featured a career insight panel from the UKAEA on different traditional and non-traditional routes into STEM and fusion specific career roles.
The week was split into 5 themed days kicking off with an ‘Energy timeline’ day focussed on the journey from the stem engine to modern fusion reactor devices. The second day gave students and introduction to fusion with a lecture on why fusion is needed and how we can achieve fusion on earth. Day 3 focused on the diffent methods of achieving fusion with an introduction to plasma physics and and entry level workshop on MCF and ICF fusion device. Materials science was the focus of day 4, with this being many students first introduction to the field of materials science! Finally, the week ended with tours of Manchester’s research facilities including demonstration of both SEM and TEM microscopy, followed by a highly engaging talk from the UKAEA and one of its interns. The week concluded with a hugely exciting robotics activity including some exciting robotic canine guests and a workshop on robotic reactor maintenance in Manchester’s makerspace.
The summer school brought together students from all across the CDTs universities to develop and deliver content in an entirely student led initiative. Frankie Hough, one of the project’s lead said ‘Creating and delivering a project from scratch in which we watched a group of students develop in not only knowledge about fusion and its career paths but also in confidence and enthusiasm has an amazing experience. It has been great connecting the two fusion CDTs at Manchester and working together to deliver something that has had a measurable impact on how a group of students perceive the field of fusion.’
The project has generated measurable data on how initiatives like this can inspire the next generation of fusion scientists and engineers and how outreach can inform and shape public perception of fusion which is now being utilised to review and improve the programme in hopes of delivering similar future events.
