What is SUMTRAIC?
SUMTRAIC is a 2-week SUMmer TRAIning Course in plasma physics and, in particular, in magnetic confinement fusion devices (tokamaks). It is organised annually at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (IPP Prague). You can find more information in

• J. Stockel, J. Cavalier et al., European Journal of Physics

When is it?

• This year, SUMTRAIC will be organised from August 26th to September 6th.
• Deadline for application is June 9th and applicants can expect an answer around mid-June.

What will I do there?
The centre of gravity of this school lays in the direct involvement of the participants in actual research topics conducted at the IPP Prague.

During the two-weeks, participants, paired in a group and under the guidance of IPP Prague researchers, will have to process and analyze experimental data, perform experiments or run simulations to conduct their research. This is a very active event, where participants actually do the job, and indeed only one day is devoted to lectures (how to access data, python lecture...) and the rest of the time to the research assignment. In the final days of the event, participants have to prepare a presentation about their findings that will be defended in front of the broad audience of the whole IPP staff members the last event day.

→ Participants will get a condensed full experience of what a scientist in nuclear fusion actually does
 

What will I learn during SUMTRAIC?
Essential in a scientific career, participants shall:

• Discover if a scientific career in nuclear fusion suits them
• Get an experience of working in a team and handling professional communication
• Present in front of a large audience
• Learn nuclear fusion physics, simulations, analysis, experiments, coding...
• Have some team building fun in the beautiful city of Prague and create a new network.

What kind of scientific topic will I be working on?
Previously  operated at the IPP Prague, the COMPASS tokamak was one of the leading devices among smaller tokamaks, with an experimental program focused on plasma-wall interaction, edge plasma physics, H-mode and runaway electrons. See here for more information on the COMPASS device.

Since its decommissioning in 2021, no dedicated experiments are realized for SUMTRAIC participants. However, the 10-years extensive COMPASS database will allow most participants to work on experimental data actually obtained on a relevant fusion device.

In addition, collaboration between the IPP Prague and the Czech Technical University will allow some participants to perform experiments on GOLEM, the oldest tokamak in the world.

Last, a new tokamak, called COMPASS Upgrade, is being designed and manufactured at the IPP Prague. It will enable cutting edge research and high power (10 MW) and magnetic field (5 T) plasma scenarios are foreseen. See here for more information on the COMPASS Upgrade device. Simulations related to this forthcoming device will be proposed.

In summary, the possible topics cover:

• Analysis of relevant experimental fusion data obtained on COMPASS
• Experiments on the oldest tokamak in the world (GOLEM)
• Simulations related to COMPASS Upgrade (or other)

Cost?

• Accommodation of participants is covered by the IPP Prague
• A symbolic fee to cover the administrative expenses is set to 70€ per student.
• Traveling expenses to Prague is up to the participants.
   

How to apply?
To apply, visit the registration form page (top left panel "Registration").

Note that applicants are requested to provide a CV, a cover letter and a reference letter. Both the CV and the cover letter should reflect their knowledge about plasma physics and fusion, their level in English, their skills in programming, which programming languages they know and their motivation to participate to the event.

2023 as an example:
The topics of the SUMTRAIC 2023 reflects the various and advanced fields of research of the IPP Prague and have included:

• Characterization of ELM behavior on COMPASS
• Dynamics of edge localized modes and sawtooth instability on COMPASS
• Causality studies during plasma disruptions
• Effect of the plasma composition on the sheath heat transmission coefficient
• Effects of HFS error field on H-mode plasma and the means of how to correct them
• Post-processing of tomographic reconstructions at COMPASS

Similar topics will be available this year, depending on the scientific program selection. The final list of topics for this year SUMTRAIC will be adapted to the number of participants and will be released at the beginning of the school.

→ Here find some feedback from some of the last year participants