Conference Agenda

We review our recent advances in supercontinuum (SC) generation in specialty optical fibres in the context of the European H2020-MSCA-ITN-2016 project called SUPUVIR. Significant scientific progress was made in emerging UV and mid-IR wavelength ranges for biomedical applications and molecular spectroscopy, evidenced by many scientific publications and the development of new compact and reliable mid-IR SC fibre sources. As a result, supercontinuum technology and its industrial applications have been matured considerably.

The EC-funded “ACTPHAST for Researchers” initiative offers European-based researchers with open access to some of the best photonics experts and the most advanced prototyping platforms in Europe. “ACTPHAST4R” is a one-stop-shop centre that aims at supporting innovation-driven researchers to turn their fundamental proof-of-concepts (TRL1-2) into research prototypes (TRL4-5). “ACTPHAST4R” provides European researchers in the first place with one-stop-shop access to the photonics expertise and mature technologies of 24 of Europe’s leading research institutes. The capabilities of these photonics technology platforms cover the entire supply chain from design to packaging, and embrace technologies ranging from free-form optics, over optical fiber technologies, to photonic integrated circuits, and MOEMS. Through heavily subsidized innovation projects, internships, and hands-on experience with these advanced photonics technologies researchers can turn their scientific conceptual breakthroughs into industrially relevant demonstrators. In addition, researchers receive expert business coaching to help foster their entrepreneurial mindset and deployment capabilities, with guidance to financing for further scaling of their demonstrators, for licensing their patents, or for setting up a start-up. As such ACTPHAST 4R will be a game-changer for the European researchers in the coming years with the continuous goal of strengthening the European innovation ecosystem.

CARLA, an EU-H2020 funded project, has designed, with the collaboration of over 80 representatives of different stakeholder groups, a model for career development events, the CARLA camps. These are devised to make visible to STEM undergraduate, Master’s students, PhD students and early-stage researchers the broad range of career opportunities that exists in photonics. The stakeholder groups included members of the photonics industry and academia, entrepreneurs, STEM university students and early-stage researchers, and a group of experts in different dimensions of diversity. So far two camps have been organised in a virtual format, receiving enthusiastic feedbacks by attendees and speakers in addition to proofs of the impact of such events on the target audience.