The academic year for the Fusion-EP international master’s programme wrapped up from 7 to 9 July 2026, when partner institution the Czech Technical University (CTU) welcomed students to Prague for their final thesis defenses.
Fusion-EP stands as the only international master’s programme entirely devoted to high-temperature plasma physics and nuclear fusion. Eight universities across five European countries jointly run the programme: three in France (Aix-Marseille Université, Université de Lorraine and CEA-INSTN), two in Spain (Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid), along with Germany’s Universität Stuttgart, Belgium’s Ghent University, and CTU in Prague. Nearly all of Europe’s leading fusion research laboratories back the programme as associated partners.
Across the three-day event, 22 second-year students representing all partner universities presented and defended their master’s theses. First-year students were also on hand to observe, getting a first look at how the defense process unfolds before facing it themselves the following year. Competition for a place on the programme is fierce: each year draws up to 200 applications, from which only around 20 students are ultimately admitted, split between the Physics and Technology branches.
IRFM plays its own part in the programme each year, hosting second-year students for a two-week period of hands-on work and group projects, a valuable chance to showcase the lab’s research and expertise to future PhD candidates and researchers.
The programme is co-led by Rémy Guirlet (IRFM) and Peter Beyer (AMU), with INSTN and IRFM as partner institutions.
