PREFIT – The Preparation of Remote Handling Engineers for ITER

A major challenge for the ITER project is to develop and implement a remote handling capability which can deliver efficient and effective remote maintenance of the Tokamak. In 2006 the PREFIT partnership was awarded one of the first EFTS contracts with the remit to identify and train the next generation of remote handling engineers for ITER. The PREFIT partnership brings together the experience of four organisations; Oxford Technologies Ltd (UK), CEA List (France), Tampere University of Technology(TUT) and VTT (Finland), each of whom have ITER and remote handling relevant experience. The PREFIT scheme offers Masters level qualified engineers the opportunity to work and train over a 3 year period towards the award of a PhD in remote handling. The scheme comprises a PhD quality research project integrated with periods of training for the researchers at each of the partner sites. The overall structure, quality and content is controlled by a Project Board and the academic quality is guaranteed by TUT. The exchange of researchers between the partners sites gives them valuable experience in the partners differing cultures and styles of working with the aim to facilite their final integration into the ITER project. Annually the PREFIT partnership also convenes a two week Common School during which all of the researchers receive specialized remote handling relevant formal training followed by a two day remote handling workshop which provides a forum for the researchers to present their project progress plus hear from invited experts from around the world who present their own experiences. This paper will describe the overall aims, implementation and present status of the PREFIT training scheme and will also present researchers experiences as lived from the inside.