Requirements for award of the FuseNet Certificate for EU PhD Programmes in Fusion Science and Technology

Transcription

1 Requirements for award of the FuseNet Certificate for EU PhD Programmes in Fusion Science and Technology

2 1. Goals The goals of the European Fusion Doctorate Certificate, also referred to as Fusion PhD Certificate, are: To recruit and train bright students for a career in fusion all over Europe. An EU-wide network will make use of the human resources from all over Europe and point out to the students in an early stage of their career the high level of international collaboration typical for our field. It also offers possibilities to experience fusion research in other places, including access to unique experimental facilities that may not be available in a local programme. To ensure education of students in the field at the highest level in a broad area of topics. Teaching organised within FuseNet can make use of the versatile experience that exists all over Europe. It also allows students to be trained in the highly interdisciplinary environment characteristic for fusion, linking engineering and physics. To allow at an early stage personal contact with fellow students all over Europe. These contacts will ease the collaboration across boarders within the EU, which is an element that will become even more important when ITER is in operation as the focus point of international fusion research. To further enhance the quality of recruitment and of education in the EU fusion program, to consolidate it at the highest international level, and make it known in the academic and industrial world outside the fusion community. ACF Requirements for award of PhD Certificate 2

3 2. Requirements In order to achieve these goals, the requirements for the PhD Certificate are the following: 1. Preparation and successful defence of a PhD thesis representing an original piece of research work directly related to fusion plasma physics or engineering or to fusion and nuclear energy, or having potential applications in fusion physics and technology. The defence of the PhD thesis should follow the local rules of the participant, but the panel must contain at least one external expert, i.e. from outside the Institution where the thesis work is conducted. The PhD thesis must be written in English. 2. Successful completion of an academic training program consisting of at least 18 ECTS in fields related to fusion plasma physics and engineering, as detailed in the FuseNet document Common PhD Educational Goals. 3. Attendance of two yearly PhD events organised according to the rules set up by FuseNet, or of one of these events and one event that would similarly fulfil the function of networking stated above and also give the students the chance to present their work to fellow PhD students in the field from all over Europe. This may be a summer school or an international conference at which the Candidate presents a poster or an oral talk. If all three conditions are met, the FuseNet Association will award a European PhD Certificate in Fusion Science and Engineering. It has to be noted that the criteria and requirements need to be applied with some degree of flexibility, and will be adapted on a regular basis according to the experience of the first student cycles. ACF Requirements for award of PhD Certificate 3

4 3. Accreditation Procedure The Academic Council of FuseNet (ACF), appointed by the Board of Governors of the FuseNet Association, is in charge to verify the fulfilment of the requirements and to deliver the Certificates. The ACF sets two yearly deadlines for receiving applications for the Certificates: July 15 and December 15. The ACF meets twice a year, around the end of September (live), and around the end of January (typically remotely, by videoconference), resulting in an advice to the FuseNet Board of Governors on the elegibility of the applicants that have send their application in time before the last deadline. The Board of Governors then decides on the applications. The Certificates will be awarded by a ceremony planned by the Board of Governors of the FuseNet Association. The Certificates will be requested and awarded at the end of the PhD study cycle. However, the guidelines are made public on the web, so that applicants can verify that they comply with them from the beginning of their studies. The ACF is available for advice on the pertinence of program and individual theses, upon request. Two approaches for the accreditation process are foreseen: 1. Institutional Accreditation of an entire PhD Course/Network cycle, lasting for four years and simplifying the procedure for the accreditation of PhD students of that Course/Network cycle. Accredited Institutions need nevertheless to apply for their students, although with less detailed information than in the individual case. 2. Individual Accreditation, awarded to a single PhD student of a PhD Course/project (not globally accredited). ACF Requirements for award of PhD Certificate 4

5 4. Application Procedure All the procedures will be done via an ad hoc FuseNet web interface, available through: In the following sections, you can find the list of the minimal requirements for the application packages. 4.1 Institutional Accreditation List of theses completed or ongoing at the same institution, with indication of thesis supervisors List of the courses, teachers names and ECTS credits offered within the Institution s doctorate program Summary of the Institution s assessment rules Summary of the Institution s procedures 4.2 Accreditation of PhD students from an accredited Institution PhD thesis (pdf), in English CV and publication list of the Candidate Presentation letter from the PhD supervisor, indicating the pertinence of the application Certificate of participation to two annual FuseNet PhD events signed by the responsible authority of the Events, or, in lieu of one of the two, a document testifying participation to an equivalent event Jury composition, including the members affiliation and academic degree ACF Requirements for award of PhD Certificate 5

6 4.3 Accreditation of PhD students not from an accredited Institution PhD thesis (pdf), in English CV and publication list of the Candidate CV of the thesis supervisor Presentation letter from PhD supervisor, indicating the pertinence of the application Certificate of participation to two annual FuseNet PhD events signed by the responsible authority of the Events, or, in lieu of one of the two, a document testifying participation to an equivalent event. Jury composition, including the members affiliation and academic degree Summary of relevant course work (including list of teachers), and ECTS credit record, including the Master and Doctoral curricula. ACF Requirements for award of PhD Certificate 6