Ten nations represented at CENIDE's first nanotechnology summer program

(Nanowerk News) Sixteen students from ten different countries are currently taking part in the “Nano Summer Program” organized by the Center for Nanointegration (CENIDE) at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE). Over the course of the seven-week program, these students will expand their knowledge of all things “nano” and have an opportunity to network with leading experts in the field.
The Nano Summer Program is aimed at international students studying science or engineering who want to expand their knowledge into the field of nanotechnology. Some of the participants come from universities that have been working with CENIDE for a long time, including the University of Minnesota (USA), University of Tsukuba (Japan), and ETH Zurich (Switzerland), while other participants learned about the program through advertisements. A total of 16 students from the USA, Switzerland, Iran, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Malaysia, Morocco, Taiwan, and Thailand are spending seven weeks studying at CENIDE. One of them is 24-year-old Yasaman Akhavan-Farshchi from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, who said, “I applied to the program because I wanted to broaden my knowledge beyond the scope of my university studies, and I wanted to meet other experts in the field.”
This inaugural Nano Summer Program organized by CENIDE began with a week of cultural activities, including excursions to the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex (a World Cultural Heritage Site) and the Haus der Geschichte (House of History) in Bonn, as well as an introduction to the German language. After attending a series of lectures covering various aspects of nanotechnology, participants spent four weeks working on individual research projects in the labs of CENIDE scientists. All of the participants were very diligent and devoted to their work, observed CENIDE general manager Dr. Tobias Teckentrup. “Of course, we meticulously selected the participants from a large number of applicants,” he said. “So it is particularly gratifying to see them tackle their projects with so much curiosity and motivation.”
After the project phase and the students’ presentations, the final week of the program consists of visits to industrial firms and research institutions. Siemens, the Institute of Energy and Environmental Technology, the fuel cell research center ZBT, the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS in Duisburg, Evonik Creavis in Marl, Nanofocus in Oberhausen, and Bayer in Leverkusen will all open their doors and labs to the Nano Summer Program participants.
Program participants will gain diverse insights into the field of nanotechnology, which lies at the intersection of science and engineering. Because nanotechnology enables manipulation of material properties, it is one of the key technologies of the 21st century. Structures based on nanotechnology are deployed in many different areas, including energy technology and information and communications technology.
Source: CENIDE