Excellent studies in a European network

A strong sign of solidarity: ten Ukrainian students and six lecturers from V. N. Karasin Kharkiv National University are taking part in the EMIMEP Summer School at Friedrich Schiller University Jena from 26 to 28 August, which is being hosted by the Abbe School of Photonics. The International Office of the University of Jena is financing the trip of the Ukrainian guests, thus enabling the Ukrainian delegation to take part in the Summer School.

The symbolic kick-off for Jena's participation in the programme

"For Jena, the summer school is both the de facto kick-off for this Erasmus study programme and an opportunity to present Thuringia and Jena as good hosts to all the guests, some of whom have travelled a long way to attend," says Dr Christian Helgert, Chief Executive Officer of the Abbe School of Photonics. The name EMIMEP stands for "European Master for Industry in Microwave Electronics and Photonics". It is an international master's degree programme under the umbrella of the European Union's Erasmus Mundus programme. The target group are international Master's students who come from professional engineering fields.

The University of Limoges (France), the University of the Basque Country in Leioa-Bilbao (Spain), the University of Brescia (Italy) and Friedrich Schiller University Jena are participating in the programme, which will enter its second round in 2025. The Abbe School of Photonics at the University of Jena is responsible for the photonics training programme. There are also associated partners in business and industry as well as other international universities, including the University of Kharkiv.

Defence of the master's dissertations in the lecture hall at Max-Wien-Platz

The EMIMEP Summer School brings together all international students on the EMIMEP programme in Jena. Those who have completed their two-year degree programme and successfully defended their master's dissertation in Jena will receive their graduation certificate on Wednesday in the large physics lecture hall at Max-Wien-Platz. The summer school's programme also includes scientific lectures, practical workshops and a visit to the Zeiss factory.

"The two-year master's programme for international students begins in Limoges, France, before moving on to Brescia in Italy," says Christian Helgert. It is only in the second year of the programme that students can choose between Limoges, Brescia, Leioa-Bilbao and Jena for their respective specialization. Every year, around five selected students are trained in Jena. About 200 prospective students apply for this master's degree programme each year, 15 to 20 of whom are selected for an EU Erasmus scholarship. As with the international master's degree programmes offered by the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy in Jena, applications for the EMIMEP programme literally come from all over the world.

Attracting experts for European companies

Based on their previous academic achievements, participants in the programme receive a two-year full scholarship that enables them to study in Europe. The aim of the programme is to give young people with excellent academic prospects the opportunity to complete a Master's degree together with the EU partners, thereby attracting and retaining further highly trained specialists for European companies.