Advancing Excellence in Photonics for Flanders and the World
20 years of the UGent–VUB MSc in Photonics Engineering

When: 19–20 October 2026
Where: 19 October — Royal Library of Belgium (KBR), Brussels · 20 October — UGent (Ghent) and VUB (Brussels) campuses

LIGENTEC is proud to sponsor this symposium, organised by Ghent University (UGent) and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) to mark 20 years of their jointly run MSc in Photonics Engineering.

Launched in 2006 as an Erasmus Mundus programme — originally with the University of St Andrews, Heriot-Watt University, and KTH — the MSc has since trained several hundred photonics engineers now working across industry and research worldwide.

Two Days, Three Locations
The symposium opens on the afternoon of 19 October with a plenary session at the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR) in Brussels, preceded by an optional morning visit to imec in Leuven. On 20 October, parallel sessions run across the UGent and VUB campuses.

The programme brings together alumni, current students, professors, and industry partners who have shaped the MSc’s first two decades.

LIGENTEC at the Symposium
LIGENTEC is proud to sponsor this milestone event. Anton Vasiliev (Customer Project Manager) will be attending both days.

If you’d like to meet during the Symposium, get in touch beforehand to arrange a time.

About the Joint MSc in Photonics Engineering
The UGent–VUB MSc in Photonics Engineering is one of Europe’s longest-running joint photonics degrees, training engineers who go on to work in telecom, sensing, quantum, and photonic integration — the same fields LIGENTEC’s Silicon Nitride PIC platform serves, from first MPW prototype to 200 mm automotive-qualified volume production.

Full symposium programme available here.
Contact: MSPE Secretariat — [email protected]