Lancaster University is to create a new nuclear power station control room simulator.

Funded through a £2 million grant as part of an £88.5 million capital investment by the Office for Students (OfS) into Universities and colleges across England, Lancaster University will address a critical gap by developing a nationally-unique educational facility designed to train future professionals in nuclear engineering, cyber security and related disciplines.

Consisting of banks of digital screens, and software similar to that found in nuclear control rooms, a novel aspect of the immersive high-fidelity teaching simulator, which will launch in Spring 2026, is its highly reconfigurable design.

From launch, this asset will support teaching using software similar to those found for a range of reactor types, including Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs), Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), and tokamak fusion reactors, with software codes developed by Norway's Institute for Energy Technology and Tokamak Energy.’

The new simulator will sit alongside the University's Data Immersion Suite, where these Lancaster students are pictured. Photo: Lancaster University.

placeholder image — The new simulator will sit alongside the University's Data Immersion Suite, where these Lancaster students are pictured. Photo: Lancaster University.

The simulation facility will also be used to train Lancaster University PhD students from the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Skills And Training Underpinning a Renaissance in Nuclear (SATURN), which is training the next generation of nuclear energy researchers.

Professor Rebecca Lingwood, Interim Vice-Chancellor at Lancaster University, said: “This significant investment by the OfS will deliver a next generation high-fidelity teaching asset. Highly reconfigurable, the simulator will be an invaluable teaching tool augmenting Lancaster’s long-established strength across disciplines such as nuclear engineering and cyber security.

“It will support Lancaster’s key role in helping meet the skills gap challenge by enhancing the training of future generations of professionals with ambitions to enter a low-carbon energy sector vital for national energy security, as well as a critical sector for the region.”

Dr Samuel Murphy, Director of Studies for Nuclear Engineering at Lancaster University, said: “This exciting new facility will greatly enhance the experience and learning opportunities for students on our Nuclear Engineering programmes, helping to maintain Lancaster’s position as a leading provider of nuclear education in the UK.”

Professor Paul Smith, Chair in Networking and Principal Investigator of the initiative, said: “This simulator, which is nationally unique in its highly-reconfigurable characteristics, will enable the simulation of scenarios where nuclear facilities are cyber attacked, providing valuable in-depth learning experiences for our cyber security students, some of which may become future cyber security professionals protecting our critical national infrastructure.”

The OfS is providing project funding for 60 universities and colleges.