On June 13th, 2018, the Berlin Optik Young Minds Section hosted our annual career event “Working in Photonics in Berlin”, at Humboldt University of Berlin. We presented talks by research institutes and companies, followed by an informal “Meet-the-Expert” session with time for questions and discussions in smaller groups.
The event “Working in Photonics in Berlin” aims to support the career planning of students and young professionals in the field of photonics/optics by providing a platform for students, companies, universities and research institutes to meet, exchange information and connect.
We had an exciting program with short talks by speakers from companies First Sensor, Corning, Zeiss, Eagleyard, Jenoptik, Springer Nature and Berliner Glas, and from the research institutes HHI, MBI and FBH.
Many of the students that are about to complete or have recently completed their degree in physics (Bachelor/Master/PhD) do not yet have a clear idea about their career path, or information about careers in industry and academia are limited. This event allows prospective and recent graduates to get an insight into different possible working environments. Companies and institutes on the other hand get the opportunity to introduce themselves to the students and talk to potential new employees.
Additionally, this year we were happy to also include our event as part of the “Perspektive der Physik” Lecture series, in which students are invited to reflect about the different fields of study they can choose. This widened our reach also to younger physicists still at the formation stages of their studies. With this effort we hope to strengthen the image of optics/photonics within our larger student community and support their future career choices.