School Chair: R. Osellame
Scientific committee: R. Osellame, F. Sciarrino, A. Szameit, S. Tanzilli, R. Leoni, J. O’Brien, P. Walther, M. Barbieri, A. Fiore, C. Silberhorn, A. Shields
Local organizing committee: G. Pensa, A. Crespi, R. Bertoli, L. Podini
Contact person for information and registration: Giuliana Pensa (PICQUE Project Manager) at giulianapensa@gmail.com
Venue: Hotel Royal Victoria (http://www.royalvictoria.com/1/1/EN/Home_page.htm)
Description
The First PICQUE Scientific School, organized by the PICQUE partner CNR, was devoted to students and young researchers already in the field of integrated quantum photonics or in the field of integrated optics looking for applications in quantum information or in the field of quantum optics and trying to understand which advantages integrated optics can bring to their research. The school, with top-level international speakers and a 4-day program, gave a full overview of the current technologies that are at the basis of the exploitation of integrated optics in quantum information and provided an overall very formative experience enhancing the creation of a young community in this new and very exciting field.
Numbers
A total of 40 persons attended the School, divided as follows:
A) 27 participants, of which:
– 10 PICQUE fellows (5 ERs: I. Agafonov, S. Barz, M. Lebugle, T. Meany, D. Sahin; 5 ESRs: J. Boutari, G. Digeronimo, C. Greganti, D. Guzmán, I. Pitsios). I. Faruque could not attend the meeting due to VISA issues
– 8 participants belonging to PICQUE teams
– 9 participants not belonging to PICQUE teams
B) 11 speakers, of which:
– 8 speakers belonging to PICQUE teams
– 3 speakers not belonging to PICQUE teams
C) PICQUE Coordinator and Project Manager
Scientific Program
Structure of the school
Each school day was structured as follows:
Morning: 2 lessons (90 min + 15 min devoted to questions followed by a break)
Afternoon: 1 lesson (90 min + 15 min devoted to questions followed by a break) + other activities (poster session or other)
The size of the audience limited to 30 participants, the venue and the structure of the school were especially thought to increase the interaction among the participants and between the participants and the speakers. The organization of the “happy hour” during the poster sessions helped this interaction.
Finally, as social event a boat trip and dinner in Bellagio was organized.
Slides were made available by the speakers and were posted on an ad hoc-restricted page of PICQUE website at the end of the school. Presentations (reserved to registered participants)
Evaluation of the school
As feedback system of the PICQUE project on the efficacy of the school, all participants to the school, both PICQUE and non-PICQUE fellows, were asked to complete anonymous questionnaires on the school in order to evaluate their opinion of the event. The school was very much appreciated, in particular as regards the interaction between the participants, the logistics and the scientific content and clarity of the presentations.