Tokamaks Course: Operation and Design
Online 300-hour course on tokamaks: operation and design. 6 modules covering ASME BPVC Section III, Division 4 (fusion devices), RCC-MRx (mechanical design of high-temperature components) and EFIT. Assigned tutor and open enrolment.
Tokamaks Course: Operation and Design — studying from New Zealand
New Zealand has no nuclear power generation, and its nuclear-related activity is limited to research, isotope applications and the regulation of imported radioactive materials. The country maintains a firm policy position against nuclear power under the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act 1987. Relevant professional roles mainly involve radiation protection, medical and industrial applications, and international safeguards cooperation, overseen by the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry of Health.
Fees for New Zealand: NZ$1,580 (New Zealand dollar), with instalments and employer sponsorship available.
Relevant bodies in New Zealand
Typical roles
Questions from New Zealand
Does New Zealand have nuclear engineering registration or recognition?
New Zealand has no domestic nuclear power industry, and its nuclear-related activity is regulated mainly through the Ministry of Health and the Ministry for the Environment under the Radiation Protection framework. Engineering New Zealand is the general professional body. SEIUM's qualifications are private and not accredited by any national body, so their recognition is for employers to decide.
Where could nuclear-related engineering skills be used in New Zealand?
Relevant work in New Zealand is limited and mostly found in research, radiation safety, medical physics, and the handling of radioactive materials in industry and health. Employers in these areas generally require specific accredited training and licensing. A private qualification alone is unlikely to satisfy those requirements.
Can I study this from New Zealand without relocating?
Yes. The course is fully online and taught in English, so you can study from New Zealand and no student visa is needed. Specialist courses total 300 hours, postgraduate diplomas 800 hours and master's programmes 1,900 hours, with an assigned technical tutor. Fees can be paid in instalments, and employer sponsorship is possible.
Take the controls.
Run a real engineering trade-off from this field. Move the sliders, watch the model react in real time and beat the challenge.
What you will be able to do
Explain the operating principle of a tokamak.
Describe the magnet, vacuum and heating systems.
Analyse operating scenarios and discharge control.
Evaluate disruptions and edge-localised modes.
Conceptually size the divertor and the first wall.
Assess the safety and licensing framework of ITER.
Compare the ITER design with DEMO concepts.
Who it's for
- Tokamak operation engineer seeking to specialise in Tokamaks: operation and design.
- Plasma physicist seeking to specialise in Tokamaks: operation and design.
- Plasma control engineer seeking to specialise in Tokamaks: operation and design.
- Plasma-facing components engineer seeking to specialise in Tokamaks: operation and design.
- Nuclear fusion researcher seeking to specialise in Tokamaks: operation and design.
- Heating systems engineer seeking to specialise in Tokamaks: operation and design.
- Graduates in engineering or science seeking to enter nuclear fusion.
What you'll work with
- ASME BPVC Section III, Division 4 (Fusion Devices)
- RCC-MRx (Mechanical Design of High-Temperature Components)
- Arrêté INB of 7 February 2012 (Basic Nuclear Installations)
- Directive 2014/68/EU (Pressure Equipment)
- Directive 2013/59/Euratom (Basic Safety Standards)
- IEC 61508 (Functional Safety)
- ISO 17873 (Ventilation of Nuclear Installations)
6 modules · 300 h
1.1D-T fusion reactions and the Lawson criterion1.2Triple product and Q gain1.3Particle motion in magnetic fields1.4Toroidal configuration and rotational transform1.5MHD equilibrium and the Grad-Shafranov equation1.6Safety factor q and magnetic shear1.7Beta limit and the Greenwald density limit1.8Anomalous transport and turbulence1.9IPB98(y,2) confinement time scaling1.10Practice: calculating the triple product in a tokamak
2.1Vacuum vessel and cryostat2.2Toroidal, poloidal and central solenoid coils2.3First wall and plasma-facing materials2.4Divertor and exhaust heat management2.5Tritium breeding blanket2.6Pumping and fuelling systems2.7Plasma diagnostics2.8Auxiliary heating systems2.9Shielding and component activation2.10Case study: ITER architecture
3.1Dielectric breakdown and plasma initiation3.2Current ramp-up and flat-top phase3.3L-mode and H-mode3.4ELM modes and their mitigation3.5Plasma position and shape control3.6Disruptions and their mitigation3.7Runaway electrons3.8Neutral beam and RF heating3.9Non-inductive current drive3.10Laboratory: equilibrium reconstruction with JET data
4.1Thermal loading on the divertor4.2Detached divertor and impurity radiation4.3Tungsten and beryllium as wall materials4.4Erosion, redeposition and tritium retention4.514 MeV neutron damage4.6EUROFER low-activation steels4.7IFMIF-DONES facility4.8Water and helium cooling4.9Remote maintenance of internal components4.10Workshop: thermal balance of a divertor module
5.1System design tools: PROCESS5.2Aspect ratio and spherical tokamaks5.3Compact high-field tokamaks5.4Tritium fuel cycle5.5Plant balance and energy conversion5.6Plant availability and reliability5.7Fusion safety and licensing5.8European DEMO, STEP and ARC5.9Economics of fusion energy5.10Case study: comparing DEMO and ARC
6.1Defining the device mission6.2Selecting the main parameters6.3Equilibrium and stability calculation6.4Confinement estimation6.5Sizing of coils and structure6.6Conceptual divertor design6.7Power balance and Q6.8Proposed operating scenario6.9Report and presentation6.10Final review with the tutor
How you'll learn
100 % online training on the SEIUM campus, with downloadable material, recorded classes and an assigned technical tutor. No fixed timetables: students progress at their own pace within the intake, which makes it possible to combine the course with work.
Each module combines theory, guided reading of the original standard and applied exercises. The working software is EFIT, JINTRAC, TRANSP, MATLAB, ANSYS Mechanical, in free, academic or evaluation versions. Assessments are based on real procedures for magnetic equilibrium reconstruction, plasma discharge analysis and divertor heat load studies. Assessment is continuous by module, plus the final integrating project.
Build it end to end
Your final project follows the real engineering workflow, step by step, reviewed by your tutor.
Explain the operating principle of a tokamak.
Describe the magnet, vacuum and heating systems.
Analyse operating scenarios and discharge control.
Evaluate disruptions and edge-localised modes.
Conceptually size the divertor and the first wall.
Where this takes you
Requirements
- No prior degree is required.
- Internet connection and a computer capable of running the programme's software.
- A level of Spanish sufficient to follow technical standards documentation.
Ready to start?
Send your application today. Our admissions team replies within 72 hours with your study plan and funding options.
Frequently asked questions
The programme totals 300 hours, spread over 3 to 5 months. That is an average of 10 to 15 hours per week, compatible with a full-time job.
You will work with EFIT, JINTRAC, TRANSP, MATLAB, ANSYS Mechanical. Free, academic or evaluation versions are used, and the tutor indicates the free alternative where one exists.
An own diploma from SEIUM Institute upon passing the continuous assessment and the integrating project. It is in-house training, not an official qualification from the Ministry.
Yes. Modules passed in a course or postgraduate diploma in the same area are credited towards the advanced programme. Check the credit transfer policy when you enrol.
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