Shaping the future of photonics education: PHORTIFY Industry Meeting in Jena

On 16 September 2026, around 60 participants from across Europe came together at the Abbe Center of Photonics (ACP) in Jena for the PHORTIFY Industry Meeting 2026. More than half of the participants represented companies and industry-related organisations, creating a strong platform for direct exchange between academia and the European photonics industry.

The meeting focused on the skills and qualifications needed in a rapidly changing photonics sector. Key topics included artificial intelligence, integrated and quantum photonics, global market developments, industry–academia collaboration, new approaches to practical training, and current gaps in photonics education. In workshops and discussions, participants contributed - in a remarkably frank and honest way - their perspectives on how academic education can better meet future industry needs.

The outcomes of the meeting will feed directly into PHORTIFY’s development of new photonics and digital courses and training formats, helping to strengthen the link between European higher education and the needs of the photonics industry.

Speakers and contributions

• Prof. Michael TOTZECK, ZEISS – Smarter, smaller, spookier: Optics and photonics in the age of AI, Integration and Quanta
• Dr. Jose POZO, Optica – Global Photonics: Drivers, Trends & the Europe Opportunity
• Prof. Heidi OTTEVAERE, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, PHORTIFY Project Leader – Introduction to PHORTIFY & Scope of the Workshop; PHACTORY – PhotonHub Factory for Next-Generation Photonics Innovation Support; Wrap-Up and Closing Remarks
• Marco THIEROFF, TRUMPF Lasersystems for Semiconductor Manufacturing SE – Welcome Greetings from TRUMPF
• Dr. Tino EIDAM, Active Fiber Systems GmbH – Best Practice & Experience with Academia: Active Fiber Systems
• Dr. Luc AUGUSTIN, SMART Photonics – Best Practice & Experience with Academia: SMART Photonics
• Dr. Jan WERSCHNIK, Photonics Precision Engineering GmbH – Best Practice & Experience with Industry: Photonics Precision Engineering GmbH
• Dr. Ulrike FUCHS, asphericon GmbH – Best Practice & Experience with Academia: asphericon GmbH
• Dr. Ludovic LESCIEUX, ALPhANOV – Virtual Reality for the Development of Procedural Skills in Photonics
• Dr. Wouter LINTSEN and Dr. Evi SOMERS, PhotonDelta – Impulse by PhotonDelta
• Dr. Juha PURMONEN, Photonics Finland – Current Challenges on Training High-Tech Workforce
• Prof. Pasi VAHIMAA, University of Eastern Finland – Needs and Gaps of Industry / Micro-Credentials
• Dema SAAD ALDEN, Dr. Tobias GÄBLER and Dr. Christian HELGERT, Friedrich Schiller University Jena – Various Host Contributions

Companies involved

Companies and industry-related organisations involved in the meeting included Active Fiber Systems GmbHExternal link, ALPhANOVExternal link (France), ASMLExternal link (Netherlands), asphericon GmbHExternal link, Carl Zeiss AGExternal link, Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbHExternal link, DeepEn GmbHExternal link, EphosExternal link (Italy), heracle GmbHExternal link, IMMS GmbHExternal link, Indigo Optical Systems GmbHExternal link, JENAINNOVATIONExternal link, Jenoptik AGExternal link, NexperiaExternal link (Netherlands), openUC2 GmbHExternal link, OpticaExternal link (United States), OptoNet e.V.External link, PhotonDeltaExternal link (Netherlands), Photonics Precision Engineering GmbHExternal link, PVA TePla AGExternal link, Quanta SystemExternal link (Italy), siOPTICA GmbHExternal link, SMART PhotonicsExternal link (Netherlands), Synopsys / AnsysExternal link (United States), ThorlabsExternal link (United States), TRUMPFExternal link, and VoxelSensorsExternal link (Belgium).

The Industry Meeting underlined the strong interest on both sides in closer and more continuous collaboration between academia and industry. The discussions and feedback gathered in Jena will help PHORTIFY further align its educational activities with technological developments and the qualification needs of European photonics companies, while also opening opportunities for future cooperation in training, recruitment, technology transfer and applied research. The exchange continued on 17 September, when the PHORTIFY consortium met again to proceed with the next steps and translate the input from the Industry Meeting into future project activities.

Link to the Phortify websiteExternal link
Link to the website of the Phortify Industrial Meeting 2026External link