JOIN THE PHOTONICS REVOLUTION

Photonics is a pivotal driver in the ongoing revolution reshaping our world. Recognised as one of the fundamental Key Digital Technologies by the European Commission (EC), photonics plays a central role in powering applications essential to economic growth and industrial competitiveness. Photonics is also critical to the technological solutions urgently required for addressing global societal and environmental challenges. As such, photonics lies at the heart of Europe’s strategic imperatives for a brighter future.

As recognised in the Photonics21 Multiannual Strategic Roadmap 2021–2027, photonics must evolve into a pervasive discipline embedded at all levels of education and professional training to address the EU’s pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges. This strategic agenda, aligned with the Horizon Europe Photonics Partnership, sets a clear vision for elevating Europe’s global position through the development and integration of photonics across sectors. Despite a global market value surpassing €600 billion, it is estimated that only 20% of photonics' potential has been harnessed, presenting significant opportunities.

One of the critical challenges outlined in the roadmap is closing the digital skills gap, which has become a pressing barrier to Europe’s technological and industrial progress. The EU faces a systemic shortage of professionals with advanced skills capable of effectively developing, deploying, and applying technologies. This gap impedes the full realisation of gains from technological breakthroughs, particularly in areas dependent on photonics. The demand for engineers with expertise in photonics is rapidly growing, driven by the evolution of applications that integrate photonic technologies in diverse fields, such as healthcare, sustainability, agriculture, and safety, to name a few. The workforce must possess not only core digital skills but also specialised competencies tailored to specific application domains.

To bridge this divide, it is essential to deliver educational and training programmes that align with the future workforce requirements in photonics. The Photonics21 report, compiled with input from more than 1,700 photonics organisations, emphasises the importance of creating strong academia-industry collaborations to translate research into market-ready innovations swiftly. The alignment of educational strategies with market needs is pivotal for empowering Europe’s workforce to lead in photonics development and applications.

Join the Photonics Revolution in the heart of Europe!

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Universiteit Gent address these challenges by offering targeted education and training through the Interuniversity Master of Science in Photonics, an English-taught 2-year master programme (120 ECTS) that leads to a joint degree from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University, right in the heart of Europe.

We offer students a challenging engineering programme that combines core photonics courses with a wide range of photonics electives and multidisciplinary modules, e.g. Electronics and Information Technology, Physics and Materials, Business Engineering, Modelling, Measurement and Control and Life Sciences. This multidisciplinary approach, combined with high-level training in labs and a strong link with industry worldwide, has proven to boost the employment prospects of our graduates to a maximum in innovative industries and research domains such as biotechnology, health care, green energy and environmental monitoring, homeland security, aerospace, ICT and Industry 4.0.

Come and join an international group of more than 60 students studying in Ghent and Brussels and become part of the Photonics Revolution!