Young researchers at 4th SFERA-III Doctoral Colloquium and Summer School in Cologne
From 11 to 15 September 2023, around fifty young researchers from different nations met in Cologne for the 4th SFERA-III PhD Colloquium and Summer School. Among them were eleven doctoral students from the Institute of Solar Research and the Institute for Future Fuels. Together with their European colleagues from the field of concentrating solar technology, they had plenty of opportunity over the five days to exchange ideas and expand their personal networks.
On behalf of the host DLR institutes, Prof. Dr. Robert Pitz-Paal welcomed the participants to the DLR premises at the Cologne site. In addition to the two DLR institutes, scientists from the following research institutions were represented: CIEMAT-PSA (Spain), IMDEA Energy (Spain), ETH Zurich (Switzerland), CNRS (France), METU (Turkey), Fraunhofer ISE (Germany) and the University of Évora (Portugal).
During the three-day colloquium, all doctoral students presented the current status of their scientific work. The individual presentations were followed by technical discussions, in which Professors Bernhard Hoffschmidt and Robert Pitz-Paal from the Institute of Solar Research and Christian Sattler from the Institute of Future Fuels also actively participated. The topics presented covered solar systems, solar optics, solar water treatment, solar fuels and solar receivers. The doctoral colloquium was followed by the two-day Summer School. This was aimed not only at the young researchers, but also at a broad audience from science and industry. Experts from industry and science gave lectures on the topic of "Smart CSP: How intelligent tools, devices and software can improve the design and operation of concentrating solar technologies".
In addition to the lectures and discussions, the participants visited the research facilities of the participating DLR institutes in Jülich with the solar tower and the Synlight. They also explored Cologne's old town with an interactive city tour.
At the end, the participants looked back on a week with diverse insights and experiences. In addition to suggestions for their own research work, they had the opportunity to "think outside the box" in terms of content and methodology and to make personal contacts.
Further information on the event can be found on the official website. The European Union funded the PhD Colloquium and the Summer School as part of the SFERA-III project. The aim was to strengthen cooperation between the leading European research institutions in the field of concentrating solar technology.