Choosing where and what to study is one of the most important decisions you will make in your life. Before you make your final decision you should answer two questions: What is my passion? What are my future ambitions?

If the answers to those questions contain the words engineering, physics, photonics, multidisciplinary, international, innovative and future proof then you’ve come to the right place!

Our Master of Science in Photonics Engineering is an English-taught 2-year master programme that leads to a joint degree from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University. It’s a challenging engineering programme that offers core photonics courses in combination with a wide range of photonics electives and multidisciplinary modules.

We offer our students traditional classical lectures and practical/hands-on lab training with problem-based assignments, guest lectures from industry representatives (Commscope/Melexis/Sony), case studies & international internships (University of Sydney/University of Arizona/ Microsoft/ICFO), all supported by an international team of lecturers with a high-level research background and a vast worldwide industry network.

The Photonics curriculum is constructed around five key building blocks: In master year one, students get in-depth training in core Photonics courses (1): course modules covering all the essential knowledge and skills (at master level) of a Photonics engineer. In addition, students can add Advanced Photonics Electives (2) to their package, covering specialized subjects in the field of Photonics. In the second year, students choose a dedicated multi/interdisciplinary module/minor (3), e.g. Electronics and Information Technology, Physics and Materials, Business Engineering, Modelling, Measurement and Control and Life Sciences. This can be combined with an industrial or academic (international) internship (4). To complete the master programme students submit and defend a master thesis project (5) in the final semester.

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.

In the second semester of the first master year, students get thorough practical training on performing photonics experiments. This is in the framework of the course ‘Laboratories in Photonics Research’. The aim of the course is to teach the students the basic concepts of research methodology and subsequently to apply those in lab exercises based on knowledge acquired in the courses on photonics, lasers, microphotonics and optical materials.

The covered research methodology topics include consulting sources and performing a literature study (scientific papers and patents), correctly analyzing measurement data and displaying the latter in graphs, orally presenting scientific results and writing them down into a research paper. Next, these techniques are further illustrated through four research topics to be chosen by the student and related to the ongoing work of the different research groups involved in the photonics master program. In each case, the promoter first situates the topic in the broader scope of the research group and subsequently the student gets more familiar with the topic through demonstrations and hands-on training, given by a PhD student working on the topic.

In this way the student gains an overview of the research ongoing in the groups involved in the photonics master program. Finally, the student applies the knowledge gained in the first two parts of the course in lab exercises through which he/she will acquire the expertise and insight needed to operate laboratory and demonstrator setups. These include elementary skills, which will allow the student to work in a team with optical elements and optical systems and give him/her insight into the relevant optics theory. Both free-space optical systems (characterization of laser beams, 4f processor), and fiber-based and integrated optical systems (laser diodes, waveguides) are studied. The basic experiments are divided into 8 modules in which the core measurement techniques are covered.