DIHP Pitch 2023: Apply now!

Winning budgets for innovative research and business ideas

To support start-ups and fresh ideas in the field of optics and photonics - that is the goal of the "Digital Innovation Hub Photonics (DIHP)". In 2023, the Hub is once again inviting photonics enthusiasts and (prospective) founders to present their innovative research and business projects at an "Elevator Pitch". Applications are still possible until December 14.

There are attractive research budgets to be won at one of five Jena research institutes. In addition to the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, they include the Abbe Center of Photonics (ACP) as well as the Leibniz HKI, the Leibniz IPHT and the Helmholtz Institute Jena.

Applications are welcome from all areas of optical and photonic research. Interested participants can find further information and the application documents here: https://www.innohub-photonics.de/de/elevator-pitches.html.

The pitch itself will take place on January 12 as a hybrid format - both in presence at the Beutenberg Campus in Jena as well as online.

More information on DIHP's consortium

The DIHP’s consortium is composed of:

  • Abbe Center of Photonics (ACP): We conduct fundamental and applied research in a broad variety of research fields, with a focus on ultra optics, strong field optics, and biophotonics. More information: https://www.acp.uni-jena.de/
  • Leibniz-HKI: We carry out research into natural products from micro-organisms and into the infection biology of pathogenic fungi. More information: https://www.leibniz-hki.de/en/about-us.html
  • Leibniz-IPHT: The focus of our scientific work is on optical health technologies and is oriented towards current medical issues and needs. More information: https://www.leibniz-ipht.de/en/research-profile/
  • Helmholtz Institute Jena (HI-J): We work on new laser-induced accelerator concepts, the production and investigation of intense photon and particle beams, as well as on imaging techniques and precision methods for the detection and spectroscopy of light ranging from XUV to hard X-rays. More information: https://www.hi-jena.de/en/
  • Fraunhofer IOF: Our work is focused on the business areas of light sources and lasers, opto-mechanical systems as well as sensor technology, metrology and quantum optics. More information: https://www.iof.fraunhofer.de/en/we-about-us.html

About the "Digital Innovation Hub Photonics" (DIHP)

The "Digital Innovation Hub Photonics" (DIHP) is a pilot project of the state of Thuringia - supported by the Thuringian Ministry of Economy, Science and Digital Society - which aims to promote (spin-off) startups in the field of optics and photonics. The project began in early 2019 and is based at the Photonics Performance Center of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF and the Institute for Applied Physics IAP at Friedrich Schiller University Jena. The current second phase of the project also includes other research institutes at the Jena site - the Abbe Center of Photonics (ACP) as well as the Leibniz HKI, the Leibniz IPHT and the Helmholtz Institute Jena. Currently, a total of eight teams from the various institutes are supervised at the DIHP. Close cooperation is maintained with the other partners within Jena and Thuringia as well as with the non-university research institutions.