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JINTRAC Predictive Modelling of High Beta Scenarios on JET and MAST-UGoal of the ProjectThe primary goal of the internship was to perform predictive modelling of high beta plasma scenarios using the JINTRAC suite of codes at UKAEA's Culham Campus. This effort was part of a collaborative initiative between Sapienza University of Rome, UKAEA, and the EUROfusion Work Package “Tokamak Exploitation” (WPTE RT08).

This summer, I had the chance to attend the 14th ITER International School in Aix-en-Provence, France, focused on Integrated Modelling of Magnetic Fusion Plasmas. As a Master’s student preparing for a PhD in this field, it was a valuable and inspiring experience.

During the course of my internship, I had the opportunity to work with and learn from my supervisor, Dr. Adriano Mele, while developing, implementing, and validating a Model Predictive Controller (MPC) for magnetic shape control on the TCV tokamak, with integration into the existing real-time control framework. The primary objective was to extend the TCV shape control system’s capability to handle actuator constraints explicitly, while improving tracking of user-defined magnetic flux targets on the plasma boundary.

Among many fascinating talks, this series of lectures gave me a clearer sense of the broader picture we, as the fusion community, are working toward. The topics that most captivated me—and to which I was first introduced—included the concept of a real-time digital twin of a fusion device, spin-polarised fusion, surrogate models, and flight simulators.

This September, I had the opportunity to attend the SOFT 2024 conference in Dublin. It was an amazing chance to showcase my master’s thesis work and to be part of such a prestigious event. SOFT brings together the brightest minds in fusion, and being in that environment was truly inspiring.

My name is Olle Sundberg, and I recently completed my Master’s thesis in pedestal physics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. I will soon begin a PhD position at KTH, focused on integrated modelling, with the goal of improving pedestal predictions by self-consistently coupling our pedestal code with a core transport code.The topic of this year’s ITER International School was integrated modelling, making it a timely and valuable opportunity to gain a broad overview of the field I will be working in over the coming years.

Currently interning in Poland as part of the international mobility program linked to my engineering studies at École Centrale Méditerranée, I had the opportunity to participate in the PhDiaFusion 2025 Summer School, which took place from June 9 to 13, 2025, at the Royal Castle in Niepołomice.

A Fusion of Experience: My Internship at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany

From November 2024 to May 2025, I had the great opportunity of working on my master’s thesis at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in New Jersey, USA. This 6-month internship concluded my master’s in applied physics at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.