The European Photonics CAReer LAunch Path

Project Information

CARLA

Grant agreement ID: 871457

DOI

10.3030/871457

Project closed

EC signature date 22 October 2019

Start date 1 January 2020

End date 31 December 2022

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Total cost

€ 1 450 278,75

EU contribution

€ 1 450 278,75

Coordinated by

FUNDACIO INSTITUT DE CIENCIES FOTONIQUES
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CARLA (The European Photonics CAReer LAunch Path)

Reporting period: 2021-07-01 to 2022-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Photonics exploits the unique properties of light to improve the world and is a Key Enabling Technology for Europe's prosperity, with 30% of the economy already dependent on it. The industry needs more well-prepared diverse professionals to support its growth, leadership and innovation potential, which is why the CARLA project developed a robust, sustainable photonics career camp of excellence across 10 European countries. The current shortage in the competent workforce has to be compensated with more diverse students in the STEM careers as well as with a growing number of students (undergraduates, master’s and PhD) and early stage researchers pursuing careers in photonics. The CARLA camps, a reproducible multi-format event, integrated the needs of students and researchers with the dimensions of industry, academia, innovation and entrepreneurship, putting special attention to empower diversity.

In addition, the project has developed a virtual hub to support interaction and flow of information within the photonics community and comprehensive handbooks which collect the lessons learnt, facilitating camp replication thus ensuring sustainability. The objectives of the project were: (1) to increase the interest of STEM graduates and early-stage researchers for photonics careers by giving visibility to the ubiquity of photonics and the broad range of professional opportunities the field offers; (2) to improve employability through inspirational training sessions directed to help fill the skill gaps identified by the stakeholders and by integrating entrepreneurship and innovation sessions; (3) to offer a platform for students and researchers to meet photonics professionals from different fields so to start building a network directed to develop their professional careers in photonics; (4) to increase the involvement of women and under-represented communities in photonics careers by identifying mechanisms directed to this segment through the Diversity working group and the CARLA camps.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Design of the scaffold of the camps.

According to the stakeholders’ input that was gathered though the working groups (Industry, Academia, Entrepreneurs & Innovators, Students & Researchers and Diversity) during 7 different collaborative workshops, the CARLA camps were held over 1.5 – 3 days. The details of the format and timing were left to the organising institutions, so that these could adapt to the local potential restrictions. To maximize audience engagement and encourage interaction the individual programme sessions were kept short and there were many panel interactive events instead of individual talks. Following the core elements that were identified for the CARLA camps, the programme of the events included the following sessions: (1) About Photonics - information about the field as a whole from the perspectives of research, markets and applications; (2) Career Development – glimpse into the range of professional options in photonics and potential career development paths and skills to develop; (3) Innovation and Entrepreneurship – sessions to promote them; (4) Professional Growth – facilitate the development of personal networks and foster career development; (5) Diversity – to be normalized and promoted in all aspects of the camps

Implementation of camps

CARLA organized 13 camps and 8 capsules across Europe in different as response to the COVID-19 pandemic (in person, online or hybrid). More than 2000 participants, 200 speakers, 250 academic institutions, and 375 companies were engaged in the project, contributing to its success. The camps, for the second reporting period, were organized by ICFO in Barcelona (29-30 November - 1 December 2021), by VUB in Brussels (22-24 March 2022), by PS in Stockholm (11-12 May 2022), by POLIMI in Milan (13-14 May 2022), by TUD in Delft (31 May - 1 June 2022), by MBI in Berlin (27-28 June 2022), by PA in Graz (21-23 September 2022), by IOGS in Bordeaux (27-28 September 2022), by ILC in Bratislava (11-13 October 2022), by VSLP in Lausanne (17-18 November 2022) and by ICFO in Barcelona (1-2 December 2022).

Dissemination of the project

A distinctive logo, visual identity, website and materials were developed to disseminate information about the project and promote the camps. The CARLA website was used to disseminate the project to the target audiences, stakeholders, potential replicators, to the public at large and to policy makers. Periodic updates and news were added to the page, in addition to dates and information about the camps. The CARLA project was also present on LinkedIn and Instagram, ECOP Twitter where original content and relevant news and events were shared on a weekly basis. In addition, dissemination efforts were made through the partners’ institutional channels.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The dissemination and exploitation of the project have a triple dimension:

(1) Disseminate the content broadly via high quality content and materials: through the stakeholders’ sessions, we identified topics of interest, content and formats that were highly appreciated by attendees; contents were disseminated through channels and accumulated over 500k views and impressions by M36.

(2) Replicate the camps beyond the project via engagement with multipliers, identify sponsoring opportunities and create of guidelines for camp replication i.e. more than 2000 participants, 200 speakers, 250 academic institutions and 375 companies were engaged in the CARLA camps; 11 organizations expressed their interest in replicating the CARLA camps; a comprehensive handbook including best practices to replicate camps like CARLA has been published through social media; an empowering diversity guide was developed; sponsorship guidelines were created and can be found in D3.8; and several of the CARLA events had sponsors that helped cover aspects of the camps outside the scope of the CRALA project (like for instance travel grants for students).

3) Create the seed for a job opportunities market place by creating an ongoing space for networking promotion: CARLA created a rich photonics ecosystem and has been promoting networking, highlighting its importance with dedicated spaces and sessions; the LinkedIn page and group (957 followers at M36), Instagram account (609 followers at M36) and twitter account (277 followers at M36) served as a virtual meeting space; CARLA reached out to students and researchers, industry, academia, entrepreneurs and created synergies with photonics related organisations (SPIE, OSA, Photonics21, EPIC,); ECOP will manage the community beyond CARLA ensuring sustainability.

CARLA logo

Infographics showing the multitude of applications of photonics