The fifth edition of CARLA Camp at ICFO inspires future photonics leaders

 “Very useful. It opened my mind to many photonics topics” said one of the participants of the fifth edition of the CARLA Camp – the Photonics Career Symposium, hosted by ICFO on the 12th of December. The CARLA camp brought together 17 speakers from diverse backgrounds and nearly 150 students and early-stage researchers who had the chance to discover the exciting career opportunities within the ecosystem of photonics. 

To start the day, Dr. Robert Sewell provided an insightful introduction to the vast landscape of possibilities in photonics. Following this, the panel discussion “Photonics is Everywhere” moderated by Dr. Alastair Cunningham, offered attendees the chance to learn from professionals about their diverse career journeys in the photonics world. In this panel Dr. Alexandros Stavrinadis, Dr. Alina Hirschmann, Dr. Carmen Rubio Verdú, Dr. Javier Argüello Luengo, Dr. Jordi Prat Camps, and Dr. Mustafa Balci shared their personal and professional experiences and sparked conversations with the audience. 

The event continued with engaging presentations within the session “Hot topics in Photonics” moderated by Dr. Silvia Carrasco. Delving into cutting-edge topics, Dr. Ariadna Martínez Marrades provided an overview of photonics for personalized medicine, while Dr. Kevin Schädler gave insights about AI for boosting productivity in photonics, and Dr. Miquel Rudé Moreno presented the trends in photonic integrated chips. 

As the day progressed, Alisa Tanaka, Dr. Bárbara Burlini Polesso, Dr. Michal Gwizdala, Mónica Canabal Carbia, Dr. Pablo García Gómez, and Raúl Lahoz Sanz talked about their career paths, experiences and aspirations during the panel “Testimonials by researchers“, moderated by Dr. Zoi Melissari. The sessions concluded with Dr. Akyana Britwum delivering an inspiring talk about the collaboration between SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, highlighting their efforts to build the future of optics and photonics in Ghana. 

Finally, thanks to a vibrant networking session participants connected with each other and the speakers in an informal setting, opening new prospects for their career development in photonics.  

Overall, attendee participation during the Q&A sessions was highly engaging and according to anonymous feedback, the event received an overall rating of 4.5/5, with 88% of participants finding the camp beneficial and 84% reporting an increased understanding of available careers in photonics. Here are some quotes from participants: 

“The direct testimony of the speakers is very powerful in clearing up doubts and fears of our young people who participated in the session.​” 

“The CARLA camp had excellent speakers and it’s a great introduction for Bachelor students who are unsure about studying photonics!​” 

Actively supporting the concept and sustainability of the CARLA activities, 33% of participants stated having attended another CARLA event in the past, showcasing the value of such programs in shaping their bright futures in photonics.

Based on the success of the CARLA programs, more activities will be taking pace within the framework of the 360 CARLA, an EU Horizon Europe project coordinated by ICFO. 

For more details of the CARLA camp at ICFO you can navigate in the webpage in this link.