We are looking forward to welcoming you at SUSSP81 – an international Summer School on Photonic Sensing and Metrology for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, to be held at the University of Stirling between Saturday 7th and Sunday 15th June 2025.
We are grateful to our sponsors SUSSP and Optica for supporting this event.
Registration fee
£800
The registration fee includes accommodation, meals, activities, and lectures for the duration of the school.
Application deadline
The registration deadline was 28 February 2025. If you are interested in attending but did not register before 28 February, please email cdtphotonics@hw.ac.uk directly to find out if you can still be accommodated.
Theme
The drive towards a sustainable society provides motivation for a change in the way we exploit science and technology for the benefit of the global community. This has been embodied in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development goals (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment) which identify the key areas where societal, economic, and environmental benefits go hand-in-hand to deliver a better world for all. Photonic sensing and metrology already play a significant role in many of these areas, for example the use of optical diagnostics and treatments in medicine, application of optical sensors for environmental monitoring, and photonics driven advances in efficient energy and manufacturing sectors.
Awareness of the Sustainable Development goals provides researchers with a framework to help direct new areas of study: future photonic sensing and metrology has the potential to play a transformative role in addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals by enabling more precise, real-time monitoring and analysis across a wide range of sectors.
This summer school will bring together leading academic and industrial researchers to deliver agenda-setting lectures and workshops to EngD and PhD doctoral students and early career researchers active in photonics, to help set the direction for future technology leaders.
Programme – key details
| Arrival, accommodation check-in (from 3pm), and welcome event | Saturday 7th June 2025 |
|
Lectures, Optica publishing workshop, quiz evening |
Sunday 8th June 2025 |
| Lectures, other talks, poster presentation session, sports / board games evening | Monday 9th June 2025 |
| Lectures, other talks, formal dinner | Tuesday 10th June 2025 |
| Sightseeing/leisure activities (choices to follow) | Wednesday 11th June 2025 |
| Lectures, Photonics Hackathon, pizza evening | Thursday 12th June 2025 |
| Lectures, other talk, poster presentation session, movie evening | Friday 13th June 2025 |
| Lectures, other talks, ceilidh night | Saturday 14th June 2025 |
| Breakfast and departure (accommodation check-out 10am) | Sunday 15th June 2025 |
Our programme will involve a combination of technical lectures, non-technical talks (including CDT alumni journey talks with a panel discussion from some of our inspiring graduates, Women in STEM, and other topics), a Photonics Hackathon, and poster presentations.
Posters
All students will be asked to present their work during poster sessions. Posters should be A0 in size and can be presented in either landscape or portrait orientation.
Confirmed technical speakers
| Speaker | Affiliation | Lecture Series Title |
|
|
University of Cambridge | Tackling healthcare inequities in early cancer detection |
| Jian Jin | Purdue University | Advanced plant phenotyping technologies in digital agriculture |
| McGill University | Photonics-enabled technologies for water treatment and contaminant detection | |
| Justus Ndukaife | Vanderbilt University | Next generation optical nanotweezers for health and environment |
| University of Colorado Boulder | Energy and environmental system monitoring via laser-based absorption spectroscopy | |
| Damien Weidmann | RAL Space | Photonics is in the air: spectroscopic sensing of the atmosphere |
Confirmed non-technical speakers
| Speaker | Affiliation |
| Yann Amouroux | Optica |
| Leonardo Del Bino | CDT alumnus |
| Natalie Flaherty | CDT alumna |
| Jennifer MacDonald | RAEng |
| Alison McLeod | Technology Scotland |
| Farnaz Mohsenpour | Heriot-Watt University |
| Derryck Reid | Heriot-Watt University / CDT in Applied Photonics |
| Gordon Robb | University of Strathclyde |
Social programme
The summer school will incorporate a full social programme, including a ceilidh, quiz night, formal dinner, full day of leisure activities in the beautiful Scottish countryside, and the chance to see the key landmarks in and around Stirling. We also have access to sports facilities and a cinema on the University of Stirling campus.
Code of conduct
Please see the following link for the CDT in Applied Photonics Equality, Diversity and Inclusion statement and a copy of the Code of Conduct for the event here: SUSSP81 Code of Conduct, to which we ask all participants to adhere.
