Already for the second time, the Photonica Summer School inspired twenty young international scientists. They spent a week gaining an insight into five Fraunhofer Institutes and their research in the field of photonics, traveling from Braunschweig to Berlin via Jena and Dresden. Fraunhofer Photonica was organized by the Fraunhofer Group for Light & Surfaces under the direction of Fraunhofer IPM.

Lasers, photonics and surfaces – these are three of the topics that link the Fraunhofer institutes of the Fraunhofer Group for Light & Surfaces to one another. At this year's Summer School Photonica, five member institutes gave participants an insight into application-oriented research in this field: from September 15 to 21, they visited Fraunhofer IST (Braunschweig), Fraunhofer IOF (Jena), Fraunhofer IWS and Fraunhofer FEP (both in Dresden) as well as Fraunhofer HHI (Berlin).

A varied program gave participants the chance to get to know the research areas and find out about career opportunities at Fraunhofer. They learned about different fields of application, gained insights into laboratories, were able to conduct their own experiments and had the opportunity to talk to the employees and institute directors. The participants were impressed by the variety of the program and recommend the summer school to all photonics enthusiasts.

Milena Hugenschmidt, Scientific Officer Institute Management at Fraunhofer IPM, accompanied the participants on their journey and was impressed by their curiosity: "I am sure that all participants have a successful career ahead of them – at Fraunhofer, of course, if they so choose."

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 and surfaces, 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.

The Summer School Fraunhofer Photonica took place for the first time in 2023. The two-week trip at that time took the participants from Fraunhofer IPM in Freiburg to Fraunhofer ILT in Aachen, to Fraunhofer IWS and Fraunhofer FEP in Dresden, and to Fraunhofer IOF in Jena.

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 for 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). Guest members are the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST (Braunschweig), the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institut HHI (Berlin) and the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB (Karlsruhe). 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.