Third Capsule by VUB in Brussels

The 3rd CARLA Capsule Brussels within bePOM took place on Friday, September 22, 2023, 12:30 – 14:30 CET in-person at Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium.
During the last few years, CARLA has become a well-known name, and people correlate CARLA events with careers in photonics discussions; they envision the program and look forward to it.
The 4th edition of the bePOM was held on the 21st (online) and 22nd (hybrid) of September 2023. This time, 150 participants could join bePOM, an entirely free 2-day event that looks at the advances and innovations in Belgian Photonics from the perspectives of academia, industry and entrepreneurship.

Last year’s edition of the CARLA job fair was very successful and highly appreciated by the participants and speakers. Even though the CARLA project has ended, this year, CARLA partner B-PHOT Brussels Photonics was again motivated to organize a job fair on the second day of the bePOM, where the event was hybrid, and 75 people had a chance to talk with representatives from almost 10 French- and Dutch-speaking Belgian universities and 8 companies from Flemish and Walloon regions. For the job fair, we could reach well-known Belgian photonics companies and spin-offs such as Barco, Luceda Photonics, ICS – Innovative Coating Solutions, LAMBDA-X High Tech | Masters In Innovation, Azalea Vision, Multitel, Spectricity, EuroCC@Belgium.

An industry representative:” The format – and spirit of the conference is enjoyable – people ask questions – interact a lot and are interested. This is very nice for both the speakers and the audience. We got a handful of applications (Internships or Jobs) out of the event – the proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

We have received very positive feedback from the speakers and participants for the in-person networking opportunities about careers in photonics. They especially enjoyed an informal environment for discussions. This inspires us to continue organizing it as an annual event.