Second Capsule by VUB in Brussels

The 2nd CARLA Capsule Brussels within bePOM took place on Friday, September 30, 2022, 12:30 – 14:30 CET in-person at Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium.

On September 29 and 30, 2022, 133 Belgian and foreign researchers met for the 3rd edition of the bePOM conference. bePOM – Belgian Photonics Online Meetup – aims to strengthen the Belgian photonics network by connecting different academic and industrial organizations working on Photonics in Belgium. Representatives from all French- and Dutch-speaking Belgian universities and Industry and participants from ten countries were able to listen and interact with the invited speakers about multidisciplinary and innovative subjects around photonics.

In this 2-day free event, the 1st day was online. It included scientific talks, a poster session on GatherTown, a discussion around a published article and a workshop on “Demystifying the Publishing Process” offered by Optica (formerly OSA).CARLA partner B-PHOT Brussels Photonics hosted the second day of the 3rd bePOM edition and organized a Capsule focusing on Talent recruitment. This day was hybrid with talks from the Belgian academic institutions and Industry. Moreover, 69 in-person participants also had a chance to enjoy face-to-face networking and a job fair, which were organized within CARLA – the photonics career hub project. It was an excellent occasion for companies such as AGC, AMOS, B-Sens and Morrow Eyewear, Luceda Photonics, Xenomatix, OIP, Space Instruments, as well as universities such as VUB, UGent ULB  to promote their job positions, PhD and internship opportunities. Participants appreciated the format and warm environment to talk with companies. Industry representatives mentioned that this was a great event to meet students and network with other Belgian companies working in Photonics. It was a great success, and a growing Belgian photonics community needs more opportunities to meet and discuss research and careers in photonics. Participants hoped to see each other and enjoy another job fair next year.