15–16 September 2026
Connecting industry and academia for the future of photonics training.
The meeting will bring together representatives from industry, academia, research organisations, clusters, and talent-development initiatives to exchange perspectives on the future of photonics education and skills development in Europe. With a strong focus on dialogue between higher education and industry, the event will address current and future qualification needs in the dynamic photonics sector in light of disruptive global developments.
Scope of the Meeting:
For representatives from R&D, HR, photonics companies, tech clusters, and innovation networks, the meeting offers a compact opportunity to:
Prof. Heidi Ottevaere
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Phortify Spokesperson and General Chair of the Meeting
Prof. Michael Totzeck
Fellow and Head of Innovation Management in Corporate Research at ZEISS
Keynote Talk: ” Smarter, smaller, spookier: Optics and photonics in the age of AI, Integration and Quanta”
Dr. Jose POZO
CTO Optica
Keynote Talk: “Global Photonics: Drivers, Trends & the Europe Opportunity “
Already on 15 September 2026, participants are warmly invited to join Jena’s Photonics Days 2026, taking place one day before the main Phortify Industry Meeting.
As one of Jena’s established photonics events, Photonics Days 2026 offers additional opportunities to connect with experts, industry representatives, researchers, and talented young professionals in optics and photonics. Participants can interact directly with tomorrow’s photonics talent pool, share internship and master’s thesis opportunities, and connect students with future career paths in photonics.
The co-location of both events creates an ideal setting for networking, knowledge exchange, and stronger links between education, research, and industry.
Please note that separate registration is required for Photonics Days 2026.
We are happy to offer you a workshop-style atmosphere, which aims to streamline our efforts within the Phortify project.
Photonics Days Jena, organized by Fraunhofer IOF in cooperation with the Max Planck School of Photonics is an international career and networking event in the field of optics and photonics, bringing together students and PhD candidates with companies and research institutions.
The event will take place on 15 September 2026 at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF and the neighbouring Abbe Centre of Photonics (ACP) in Jena.
The aim of the event is to connect young talent with potential employers and industry partners at an early stage and to highlight opportunities for research, innovation and careers in Thuringia and Germany.
Participants can look forward to a varied programme featuring specialist talks by renowned scientists, career development workshops, laboratory tours, showrooms, networking sessions and a career brunch with company representatives. Further information is available on the Photonics Days website. This unique event offers industry partners an attractive platform to make early contact with highly qualified young talent from the European photonics sector.
You are an industrial or research organisation interested in partnering with the event to connect with participants? Please contact Katja Szafranski at Fraunhofer IOF by email by 30 June.
Don’t miss the Jenaer Optikgespräche dinner!
Free of charge for all participants — In the evening, join us at 18:30 for the traditional Jenaer Optikgespräche dinner, hosted by Fraunhofer IOF and the Phortify Consortium. This longstanding networking event brings together industry leaders, researchers, and representatives from the optics and photonics community to exchange ideas, share experiences, and foster new collaborations.
The participation on this dinner is free of charge but requires registration.
The Phortify Industry Meeting will bring together leaders from industry and academia to foster dialogue, exchange perspectives, and jointly shape the academic education in Photonics aligned with your needs. In a workshop-style atmosphere, we aim to streamline our efforts within the Phortify project.
| Time | Room | Agenda | Speaker(s) | ||
| 08:30 | – | 09:00 | Foyer | Arrival and Registration | |
| Session 1 – Welcome and Intro | |||||
| 09:00 | – | 09:10 | Auditorium | Welcome and Introduction ACP/ASP | Christian Helgert (Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU), Chief Executive Officer, Abbe Center of Photonics)/ Tobias Gäbler (FSU, Digital Photonics Education & Coordinator) |
| 09:10 | – | 09:30 | Auditorium | Introduction to Phortify & Scope of the Workshop | Heidi Ottevaere (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Project Leader Phortify) |
| Session 2 – Academic and Industry Pitches | |||||
| 09:30 | – | 09:45 | Auditorium | Industry Pitches by all academic participants | |
| 09:45 | – | 10:00 | Auditorium | Industry Pitches by all industrial participants | |
| 10:00 | – | 10:30 | SR 2 + Foyer | Coffee Break | |
| Session 3 – Keynotes | |||||
| 10:30 | – | 11:15 | Auditorium | Keynote ZEISS: “Smarter, smaller, spookier: Optics and photonics in the age of AI, Integration and Quanta“ | Michael Totzeck (ZEISS, Fellow at Corporate Research & Technology) |
| 11:15 | – | 12:00 | Auditorium | Keynote OPTICA: “Global Photonics: Drivers, Trends & the Europe Opportunity | Jose Pozo (Optica, Chief Technology Officer) |
| 12:00 | – | 13:00 | SR 2 + Foyer | Lunch | |
| Session 4 – Industry-Academia Collaboration Best Practices | |||||
| 13:00 | – | 13:15 | Auditorium | Best Practice & Experience with Academia: Active Fiber Systems | Tino Eidam ( Active Fiber Systems GmbH (AFS), Chief Technology Officer) |
| 13:15 | – | 13:30 | Auditorium | Best Practice & Experience with Academia: Smart Photonics | Luc Augustin ( SMART Photonics, Chief Technology Officer) |
| 13:30 | – | 13:45 | Auditorium | Best Practice & Experience with Industry: Abbe School of Photonics & Lichtwerkstatt Makerspace | Pertsch/Helgert and Johannes Kretzschmar (Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU), Abbe School of Photonics) |
| 13:45 | – | 14:00 | Auditorium | Best Practice & Experience with Academia: ZEISS | |
| 14:00 | – | 14:15 | Auditorium | PHACTORY PhotonHub Factory for Next-Generation Photonics Innovation Support | Heidi Ottevaere (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Project Leader Phortify) |
| Technical Session 5 – Challenges & Demands | |||||
| 14:15 | – | 14:30 | Auditorium | Impuls by ALPhANOV: Virtual Reality for the Development of Procedural Skills in Photonics | Ludovic Lescieux (ALPhANOV, Head of the PYLA Training Center) |
| 14:30 | – | 14:45 | Auditorium | Impuls by Photonics Finland Cluster: Current challenges on training hightech workforce (TBC) | Juha Purmonen (Photonics Finland, Executive Director) |
| 14:45 | – | 15:00 | Auditorium | Impuls by Phortify: Needs and Gaps of Industry / Micro-Credentials | Pasi Vahima (University of Eastern Finland (UEF), Professor of Theoretical Optics) |
| 15:00 | – | 15:30 | SR 2 + Foyer | Coffee Break | |
| 15:30 | – | 16:15 | All rooms | Feedback discussions in smaller groups | |
| Technical Session 6 – Solutions & Courses of Action | |||||
| 16:15 | – | 16:30 | Auditorium | Summary of Feedback Rounds | |
| 16:30 | – | 16:40 | Auditorium | Survey on company expectations on Phortify consortium | Christian Helgert (Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU), Chief Executive Officer, Abbe Center of Photonics)/ Tobias Gäbler (FSU, Digital Photonics Education & Coordinator) |
| 16:40 | – | 17:15 | Auditorium | Open Discussion – Identifying to-do’s + next steps in Phortify | |
| 17:15 | – | 17:30 | Auditorium | Wrap-Up and Closing remarks | Heidi Ottevaere (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Project Leader Phortify) |
| 17:30 | – | 18:00 | Makerspace & Labs | Optional Lab Tours: Open Photonics Makerspace + Nano Labs + Quantum Labs | |
| 19:00 | – | 21:00 | Restaurant City Center | Phortify Dinner | |
On this day, you will have the opportunity to attend to lab tours and in-person meetings with the principal scientists of the principal scientists of the Abbe Center of Photonics. If you are interested, please contact Tobias Gäbler or the scientists directly.
The internal Phortify project progress meeting will also take place on this day.
The programme is subject to change.
Register now for the
Phortify Industry Meeting 2026!
Find accommodations in Jena with a good connection of public transportation to the Beutenberg campus.
Jena is located in Thuringia, the green heart of Germany. The city lies in the valley of the Saale River and is surrounded by hills and limestone cliffs. Since the second half of the 19th century, Jena becomes an important center of the photonics research and industry founded on the work of Carl Zeiss, Ernst Abbe and Otto Schott. More than 13,500 employees generate an annual turnover of over 2 billion euros in the field of optical technologies.
Because of its central location in Germany, Jena is easily accessible from all directions.
Abbe Center of Photonics
Albert-Einstein-Straße 6
07745 Jena
Germany
Via highways A4 or A9
Only a limited number of parking spaces are available at the venue. If you plan to arrive by car, please let us know by 4 September using the contact details below.
| From Leipzig-Halle Airport: | S5 (from LEJ to Halle (Saale) HBF, every 30min) & RB25 (from Halle HBF to Jena-Paradies, every 60min) | |||||||
| From Berlin-Brandenburg Airport: | FEX (from BER to Berlin-Südkreuz, every 15 min) & ICE (from Berlin-Südkreuz to Erfurt HBF, every 30-60min) & RE1, RE2, RB21 (from Erfurt HBF to Jena-West, every 30min) | |||||||
| From Frankfurt Airport: | ICE (from Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof to Erfurt HBF, every 120min) & RE1, RE2, RB21 (from Erfurt HBF to Jena-West, every 30min) OR S8 (from Frankfurt Flughafen to Frankfurt HBF, every 15min) & ICE (from Frankfurt HBF to Erfurt HBF, every 60min) & RE1, RE2, RB21 (from Erfurt HBF to Jena-West, every 30min) | |||||||
from bus stop “Stadtzentrum Teichgraben” or “Westbahnhof” to “Beutenberg Campus”:
Tickets can be bought directly in the bus or tram via ticket-machines. We recommend the ticket-app “FAIRTIQ“.
Only a limited number of parking spaces are available at the venue. If you plan to arrive by car, please let us know by 4 September using the contact details below.
Register now for the
Phortify Industry Meeting 2026!
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