ICFO’s Young Photonics Congress turns 10 years old!
The Young Photonics Congress celebrates its tenth edition with more than 1250 participants since its creation
On March 14th, ICFO opened its doors to host the 10th edition of the Young Photonics Congress, a scientific congress created for and made possible by high school students to share their photonics projects and have a meeting point. The Young Photonics Congress has proudly marked its tenth edition, setting it as a key event in the field of photonics for young generations. Since its inception, the congress has brought together more than 1250 participants, including high school students, teachers, educators, parents, as well as early-stage researchers and experienced scientists, to exchange ideas, knowledge and explore the wonders of science all together.
Many young students, with high stakes of becoming young scientists, arrived to the event eager to experience what it means to participate in a scientific conference for the first time, and live it at its full potential, from registering and getting their accreditation badges, checking that their posters were correctly placed in the right placeholder, to greeting colleagues and crowding the auditorium to take part of the plenary sessions from photonic experts.
The event was led by Dr. Lucía Castillo García, member of the Outreach team at ICFO. The event opening was addressed by the director of ICFO, Dr. Oriol Romero-Isart, who transmitted inspiring words to the young participants: “Young people define the future of our society. Things are as they are now because someone has decided them before. So, you can change and improve them.”
During the first sessions of the morning, the attendees had the opportunity to learn about the scientific research carried out at ICFO, in particular those experiences shared by Dr. Luis Trigo-Vidarte, Dr. Maria Marsal and predoctoral student Miguel Dosil. In addition, before the poster session, the audience also enjoyed a scientific stand-up talk show given by Oriol Marimon from Big Van Ciencia, who aimed at engaging with the audience on scientific concepts and explaining them through the use of comedy.
Following this, it was time for the poster session, the core session of the event, dedicated exclusively to encouraging students to network amongst each other and share scientific insights. The session commenced with motivating words from Dr. Silvia Carrasco, Vice Director of Innovation, Sponsored Research, and Public Engagement. She cheered all those present to continue pursuing their dreams and invited two students to blow out the candles of a cake in honor of the YPC’s 10th anniversary. Then, it was the moment for the students to show and tell what they had been investigating and working on within their projects, and share their results and experiences with all the other students present in the congress as well as the researchers from ICFO. A total of 25 projects were presented by 60 authors, which covered very diverse topics, including experiments that delved into the field of portable X-ray devices, wave translators, of solar filters and their effectiveness, among others.
To close the event, all participants gathered in the Auditorium to receive a diploma recognizing their work. Dr. Lydia Sanmartí-Vila, Outreach Coordinator, delivered a closing speech summarizing the ten editions in pictures and highlighting the contributions of all participants.
With a decade of success, the Young Photonics Congress remains committed to inspiring and supporting the next generation of researchers, ensuring and awaking scientific vocations among the youngest and aiming to bring them closer to the world of photonics research. Its continuous success demonstrates the importance of fostering interest in science from an early age and offering spaces where students can share their projects and experiences with the scientific community.