This three-day, fully English-speaking event, aims to bring together PhD students, research centres and companies from the field of photonics, and to explore entrepreneurship.
On the agenda: conferences, PhD pitches, PhD posters, “PhD to Startup” workshop, 1-to-1 appointments with CEOs, networking, and visits to industry and research facilities.
Photonics PhD Days are co-organised by Photonics Bretagne, Anticipa, ENSSAT and Institut Foton.
Free event but registration required
Closing date for registration: Friday, December 15th 2023
Onsite event | Event in English
Photonics PhD Days
24th-26th January, 2024
located in ENSSAT in Lannion (Brittany, France)
> You are a PhD student in photonics:
This event is for you! Come and pitch your PhD, then unlock your entrepreneurial potential with a case study… maybe your own PhD topic!
> You are not a PhD student:
This event is also for you! Come and discover the latest scientific research in the field of photonics and meet your potential next partners or engineers!
Wednesday 24th January
| 9h30-9h45 | Welcome & Coffee |
| 9h45-9h50 | Introduction of the local photonics ecosystem | Photonics Bretagne |
| 9h50-10h00 | Presentation of the support from the Technopole | Anticipa |
| 10h00-11h00 | PhD Pitches |
| 11h00-11h45 | Poster session and coffee break |
| 11h45-12h45 | Round-table: CEOs success stories |
| 12h45-14h00 | Luncheon cocktail and networking |
| 14h00-14h30 | Transfer to the “Centre Hédraou” |
| 14h30-18h30 | “PhD to Startup” workshop (1/2) |
Tuesday 25th January
| 9h00-12h30 | Visits of local industry and research facilities |
| 12h30-14h00 | Lunch for the workshop attendees |
| 14h00-18h00 | “PhD to Startup” workshop (2/2) |
Thursday 26th January
| 9h30-10h10 | Startup project pitches |
| 10h10-10h30 | Optica presentation |
| 10h30-11h20 | Project feedback and best startup award |
| 11h20-11h30 | Concluding remarks |
| 11h30-12h30 | One-to-One meetups with CEOs |
| 12h30-13h45 | Luncheon cocktail and networking |
Eight hours over 2 days to go from thesis to startup, in a friendly environment and idyllic surroundings facing the sea.
Working in small groups, you will use one of the thesis topics pitched earlier in the event to create a fictitious startup.
The workshop will be partially supervised to give you the key elements. You will also have two free evenings to work with your group at your own pace, if you wish to do so.
On the last day, you will pitch your startup to a jury. The best startup will be rewarded!
This workshop time will count towards your Doctoral School training (France).
Reserved to PhD students participating to the workshop (8 hours over 2 days).
Photonics Bretagne & partners are happy to provide all the logistics free of charge from January 24th to 26th:
You will be staying in the workshop venue: the Centre Hédraou is located in Perros-Guirec, near Lannion (Brittany / France), facing the sea and with a direct access to the beach.
Free time is planned, so that you can fully enjoy the place and the idyllic environment.
Photonics Bretagne is part of Photonics4Industry, a European project that aims to support photonics SMEs, Universities and research centres to travel and network beyond their usual reach.
Thanks to this project, Photonics Bretagne is happy to grant a 450 € travel voucher to assist PhD Students and SME representatives towards their travel expenses.
Eligible organizations are SMEs or research institutes based in a foreign COSME country (ie not France) who are members of a cluster or who are clusters themselves. They must not have participated in a ClusterXchange event before.
Please note: The grant is awarded to organizations, not to individuals.
To apply for the grant, simply get in touch with Dr Gwenaëlle LEFEUVRE
Brittany has established itself as a global centre for innovation in photonics thanks to its innovative SMEs and the excellence of its research centres and photonics higher education institutions.
In a similar fashion to the North-American Science Parks, Brittany can boast of its own Photonics Park in Lannion, where most of the activity in photonics is concentrated. The Photonics Park includes a business centre, a technology platform and an incubator. The local photonics sector itself employs close to 1,000 people in around 30 SMEs and institutions. It also benefits from many cutting-edge facilities allowing for great innovation capabilities.
