Program 2021

(Maximum number of participants: 12)

The workshop deals with how you can present your scientific topics in a way that is understandable particularly for people outside the field. We will practice working out the core of research results and formulating them in a few sentences. The central exercise is an elevator pitch in which you explain a science-related project.

Sports and exercise are a philosophy of life for Katrin Feistel (personal trainer) and Ronny Just (sports scientist for prevention and rehabilitation). In their own Jena-based studio, Satero, they have both been working together for a long time with a lot of fun and enthusiasm to realize their dream of having their own training center.
Exercise has a stimulating effect on mind and soul: done correctly, it reduces stress and frees the mind for the next daily or professional challenges.
With the activation exercises Katrin and Ronny support to wake you up after the lunch break and to activate mental energies for the program of the second half of the day.

(Maximum number of participants: 25)

As a researcher you are facing the challenge of presenting results in different media and for a variety of target groups. Concise and appealing visualization plays a major role in ensuring that the core scientific message reaches your audience.
With the focus on data visualization, you will get an overview of basic design elements such as fonts, images and colors. You will also learn important design principles, e.g. how to create visual consistency or how to make an element an eye-catcher. Use design elements in a targeted way and connect with your audience!

During the “Center of Excellence in Photonics Elevator Pitches” the candidates have a maximum of two minutes to convince the Photonics Days audience with their research ideas – like in an elevator ride! The best ideas will be awarded and supported with up to 10.000 euros research funding. Get insights into exciting research projects and vote for your favorite!

The „Applied Photonics Award“ is a prize for young scientists. It is awarded by Fraunhofer IOF and honours innovative theses that add real value to society and the economy through the application of optics and photonics. At the award ceremony, the winners will present their excellent work in a short presentation.
We are very pleased that the Applied Photonics Award this year will be presented by the Nobel Prize Winner in Physics 2020, Prof. Dr. Reinhard Genzel.
Be there and let yourself be inspired for your own theses!

Caustics can be encountered almost everywhere, including in a cocktail hour. A closer look at the light focusing patterns associated with bubbles and glasses provides a fascinating playground for photonics enthusiasts. Together with a professional bartender of the ShakeNight and the other participants, you will mix a delicious cocktail in the comfort of your home. In just 15 minutes you will create our exclusive Photonics Days Cocktail – the perfect start to our musical evening program.
We will send you the list of ingredients and the recipe in advance. There will also be an alcohol-free alternative.

After the first day of Photonics Days is over, it’s time for some relaxation. And what better way to relax than with some good music? We will therefore bring an exklusive DJ stream to your screen, live from Fraunhofer IOF, and sprinkle you for with the finest electro sounds, accompanied by high-tech images from our laboratories and impressions from Photon Valley Jena. So grab your self-mixed cocktail and make yourself comfortable. Dancing and partying along (e.g. with your roommates or the virtual community) is explicitly welcome! 🙂

DIY Lab Automation
Controlling lab components from the bathtub or collecting data during your sleep – automating your experimental setup is fun and pretty easy due to currently available microcontrollers. In this workshop, you learn how to utilize different kinds of sensors, how to control actuators or electrical signals and – most importantly – how to let devices communicate with each other and yourself! Feel free to throw in all your creativity and connect with your photonics fellows not just on a social level, but a virtual one by building a smart interpersonal data network. Basic knowledge in programming and electronics is helpful but not necessary for participating.

Whether advanced or beginner – in our morning yoga session with an experienced trainer from the Satero Training Center you will be introduced to the correct yoga postures gently, humorously and playfully. You will experience strengthening and stretching of the body in a particularly mindful and effective way that calms your thoughts and brings you new awareness. In this way, you will be optimally prepared for the second day of the event and start consciously and balanced into further workshops, sessions and the career fair.

In this interactive talk, Daniela Elsner, business-life coach, psychotherapist (HPr.G), professor of learning and teaching, and author of the book “Ausgebalanced” (Gabal Verlag) critically examines the current model of a work-life-balance balance. A new model for achieving more satisfaction and control in matters of combining our private and professional lives, called “The Tailor Your LIFE Principle” is being introduced. It consists of 10 applicable strategies to improve our state of well-being between business and private matters, different roles and obligations. This online talk is aimed at all those who want to acquire new patterns of action to deal with the combination of their professional and private challenges.

(Maximum number of participants: 15)

Social Media is so much more than cat-content on Instagram, Tiktok or YouTube. When looking at LinkedIn, it has become one of the favorite places to look for a future job or even for companies to look for future employees. This workshop aims to connect both sides – how to present oneself as an experienced candidate and on the other side how companies scan social media in order to find the perfect match for its vacancies and what kind of impact that should have on individual profiles.
In general, this workshop aims on academic students at any level of their career and no basic knowledge on social media is necessary. Participants are very welcome to bring their own questions to the session.

Sports and exercise are a philosophy of life for Katrin Feistel (personal trainer) and Ronny Just (sports scientist for prevention and rehabilitation). In their own Jena-based studio, Satero, they have both been working together for a long time with a lot of fun and enthusiasm to realize their dream of having their own training center.
Exercise has a stimulating effect on mind and soul: done correctly, it reduces stress and frees the mind for the next daily or professional challenges.
With the activation exercises Katrin and Ronny support to wake you up after the lunch break and to activate mental energies for the program of the second half of the day.

In this workshop-like discussion, we will explore what an entrepreneurial mindset is and why it is the foundation for transforming research projects into business ideas. The discussion will be supplemented with a short input by Dr. Sebastian Händschke, which introduces “Entrepreneurship” based on the literal meaning of the term and relates it to the history of optics and science in Thuringia and to thus to prosperous city of Jena as we see it today.

(Maximum number of participants: 25)

In this Workshop, we´ll look at a few common pitfalls in the application process. We´ll take a special look at the online job hunt. Topics can be (subject to selection based on a pre-course questionnaire):
– Digital etiquette
– Supply and demand: how can you find the soft spots on the labour market and in the application process?
– How can you present yourself in an interview? What is a good pitch?

Have you ever wondered why your colleague got picked to lead the new project even though you had your eyes on that opportunity and are much more qualified for the job? Have you been passed over for a promotion (yet again), even though you’ve continuously delivered outstanding results? You start to wonder if work performance even matters at all when it comes to progressing in your career. The answer is: It does, but not as much as you’d like it to. In his book, “Empowering Yourself: The Organizational Game Revealed” Harvey Coleman states that performance contributes only 10% to getting a promotion. Your image and the visibility you have in your company are far more important to progressing in your career. I get how frustrating this can be for women in STEM. After all, rarely is “how to represent yourself” or “communicate with confidence” part of an on-boarding or development program. Which leaves you wondering how you can stand out and become recognised as an expert. In this talk I’ll share the three mistakes that keep women in STEM from creating bigger opportunities for themselves – and how to overcome them.

Join me if you

• don’t know how to show up as an expert with confidence.

• lack visibility with the right people and no one seems to know who you are and what you can contribute.

• feel you lack the communication skills you need to make your ideas heard.

We are curious! What creative projects have the participants of this year’s Makeathon developed? Here there will be presented the results to the community!

In the Fraunhofer Online Escape Game, players in small groups of 4-6 people spend 45 minutes combining clues, solving puzzles and piecing together information to complete their mission. The mission is: Save the results of years of research on the topic of sustainable development at the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft.
The game is played in a combination of a game website and a quiz app on a smartphone. The joint video conference acts as a common communication tool.

Genaro Montanez, Chief of Employee and Membership Engagement Officer in Washington (OSA), will present an introduction of the career fair and what to expect at the booth of The Optical Society (OSA).

Career Fair in cooperation with The Optical Society with different representatives from the optics and photonics industry. Check out their virtual booths and get in contact with (possibly) your next exployer.

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging for All is the foundation for equitable workplaces. We are happy to present to you how the State Development Corporation of Thuringia promotes diversity to develop an inclusive organisation.