LUMINET · European Network on Luminescent Materials

Luminescent materials have entered our every day life. They can be found in lamps, traffic lights, computer screens, cell phones, in labels for goods, are used in medical applications, airport security check devices and many more. Indeed, they have become indispensable and much of societies convenience and welfare depend on them. No wonder that the development and use of luminescent materials has truly exploded in the past decade stimulated by the challenging requirements of technological applications spanning domains from solid-state lighting, optics and photonics, energy conversion and storage to well as labelling, detection and imaging in biomedicine. The production of luminescent materials and related devices also is the basis for a large industrial sector with the most key stake holders situated in Europe. There is and there will be a strong demand for skilled scientists in the area of luminescent materials which demands the definition of a precise human resource policy to attract young and highly motivated students that can be well qualified to address the exigent technological requirements of the field and help to strengthen the European technology and research area and allow European companies to keep their status as world market leaders. At the same time sustainable employment opportunities can be guaranteed with high quality jobs. To address theses topics, LUMINET intends, through a rigorous training programme, to strategically position the EU with respect to new and improved possibilities and educated young scientists. It aims at educating a number of well-educated and talented young researchers with a broad, interdisciplinary knowledge in chemistry, physics, materials science and engineering but also in soft-skills like problem-solving and project management that are able to meet the challenges of the future.