Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPMSummer School Fraunhofer Photonica
Traveling through the World of Photonics
Twenty young scientists were thrilled to spend two weeks traveling across Germany as participants of the Fraunhofer Photonica Summer School and dive into photonics, light and lasers. Fraunhofer Photonica was organized by the Fraunhofer Group for Light & Surfaces chaired by Fraunhofer IPM.
A two-week journey through four cities and five Fraunhofer institutes with a richly packed program was the ambitious plan of the Summer School Fraunhofer Photonica, which took place for the first time in 2023. The feedback from one participant shows that this was worthwhile: »I had wonderful two weeks full of an engaging and educational schedule. It really helped me to get in contact with other students and researchers and learning more about Fraunhofer.«
The two weeks of Fraunhofer Photonica offered a great variety of activities: From scientific lectures and independent laboratory work to city tours and a visit to the famous Zeiss Planetarium in Jena. The trip took the participants from Fraunhofer IPM in Freiburg to Fraunhofer ILT in Aachen. From there, the trip continued to Dresden, where the participants got to know two institutes at once: the Fraunhofer FEP and the Fraunhofer IWS. Finally, they went to the Fraunhofer IOF in Jena.
The institutes offered participants insights into their application-oriented research with competencies such as digital holography, laser welding, data analysis and much more; the days of Fraunhofer Photonica were often divided into expert presentations in the morning and opportunities for independent work, lab tours or networking in the afternoon and evening. According to one participant, the career event at Fraunhofer IPM was particularly inspiring – the young scientists were able to meet PhD students and had the chance to exchange ideas with them and a group leader. Direct exchange was also the focus in Dresden: There, the participants were able to talk to Fraunhofer FEP Director Prof. Dr. Elizabeth von Hauff and Fraunhofer IWS Director Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Leyens and ask many questions.
With Fraunhofer Photonica, the organizing team succeeded in meeting the young scientists’ curiosity; they were able to show them what opportunities and applied research topics Fraunhofer institutes offer for their own careers.
More information about Fraunhofer Photonica:
The Summer School Fraunhofer Photonica is organized by the Fraunhofer Group for Light & Surfaces. Its aim is to spark the young talented scientists’ interest in the subject area of the Fraunhofer Group and to show them career opportunities offered by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in general and the Group in particular. Knowledge transfer, particularly in the field of photonics, is focused on – in theory and practice. Fraunhofer Photonica is aimed at students who are interested in photonics and potentially see their future in this subject area. The event language is English. Information about, e. g. the application process, can be found here.
Information about the Fraunhofer Group for Light & Surfaces:
The Fraunhofer Group for Light & Surfaces combines competencies of five Fraunhofer institutes in the fields of lasers, optics, metrology and coating technology. Members are the Fraunhofer Institute Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF (Jena), the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT (Aachen), the Fraunhofer Institute für Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP (Dresden), the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM (Freiburg) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS (Dresden). The Central Office is currently at Fraunhofer IPM in Freiburg. Prof. Dr. Karsten Buse, Director of Fraunhofer IPM, is Chairman of the Group. Head of the Central Office is Dr. Heinrich Stülpnagel. Find more information here.