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Every year, thirty 1st year fusion PhD students brave the ice and snow to come to the Physics Department at Durham University for three days to make some critical current (I_c) measurements on high temperature superconductors (HTS). These students are part of the EPSRC funded CDT in Fusion Power. Most of their time is spent in the laboratories learning about HTS superconductors, cryogenics, nanovolt measurements in high magnetic fields, data acquisition and analysis while making critical current measurements at ~ 100 A, ~ 0.5 T, and 77 K.

They also complete a short workshop focused on developing their computational skills to optimise magnet design. In the context of the UK Government's commitment to achieve net zero, Durham’s Cathedral and Castle are both a reminder of the UK's long history of world-class science and engineering, and usually leads to discussions at the course dinner about moving from fossil fuels to fusion technology, and building the STEP fusion tokamak.