Delft, 24–28 August 2025 — Phortify coordinator Prof. Heidi Ottevaere (VUB B-PHOT) presented the Phortify initiative during the EU Project Session at the European Optical Society Annual Meeting (EOSAM) in Delft, The Netherlands. Her keynote talk outlined how Phortify – The Photonics education network for next-gen innovation and digital skills excellence for industry and society – will strengthen Europe’s photonics skills pipeline by uniting leading universities, research institutes and industry across Europe.
In her presentation, Heidi introduced Phortify ’s integrated education and training network, which will embed a ‘Phortify’ elective package across seven existing Photonics Master’s programmes, expand flexible mobility between institutions, and align learning pathways with industry needs, all resulting in a Phortify certification.
Beyond the Master’s level, Phortify will launch lifelong-learning self-standing modules co-designed with industry and build an open-access digital library to make high-quality photonics training accessible to students, researchers and professionals. The project also prioritizes diversity and inclusion, with scholarships, mentoring and targeted outreach, and it invests in a sustainable pan-European partnership connecting academia and industry.
Phortify, running from September 2025 to August 2029, brings together 12 partners, and is supported by €5M through the EU’s Digital Europe Programme. The initiative aims to deliver acoordinated response to Europe’s growing demand for photonics expertise while strengthening its digital capabilities.
About EOSAM 2025
EOSAM is the European Optical Society’s flagship annual meeting, held this year at TU Delft and gathering the optics and photonics community for plenaries, topical meetings, industry sessions and networking.
Learn more about Phortify and upcoming activities at www.phortify.eu.
