22.07.2014

DESY welcomes a record high of summer students

Junior researchers from 28 nations participate in an eight-week programme

This year, DESY welcomes a record of 117 summer students at both its locations in Hamburg and Zeuthen near Berlin. During eight weeks, the junior researchers from 28 nations will get a practical insight into research at Germany’s largest accelerator centre. In fact, DESY offers one of the largest and most international summer schools throughout Germany.

The 2014 summer students in Hamburg.

The students will be incorporated into the workgroups of DESY’s research sectors particle and astroparticle physics, accelerator physics and photon science, and experience everyday life in science first hand. A series of lectures complement practical experience with the necessary theoretical background. “Apart from science, the contact among the students is of central importance. The great diversity of nationalities creates a special atmosphere,” said co-organiser Olaf Behnke from DESY in Hamburg.

“The Summer Student Programme is a unique DESY instrument which has become indispensable,” said co-organiser Karl Jansen from DESY in Zeuthen. “After finishing the programme, many participants come back to DESY as PhD students. This way, DESY becomes the starting point of their scientific career.”

DESY Director Helmut Dosch points out that the education of highly qualified junior scientists is one of the major DESY goals, and that the research centre also benefits from this.“ Junior researchers provide a new momentum and new ideas to science,” said Dosch. “The students learn at and from DESY and we learn from them.”

The 2014 summer students in Zeuthen.