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IONS

The acronym IONS stands for International OSA Network of Students. The name itself reveals the nature and goals of this exciting project: create a network between all or some of the over 100 OSA Student Chapters around the world in order to establish and strengthen professional and personal bounds among the OSA young members, who most probably will be the future players in the field of optics and photonics.

Various are the benefits the students participating on the initiative will receive, such as:

• Have the chance to broaden their knowledge about
   photonic research going on outside their usual environment.
• To get insight into research opportunities, living and
  working in different institutes
• Live a conference-like experience and in turn build
  self-confidence and related skills
• Enjoy the social and cultural activities organized during
  these gatherings

It is easy to understand how this idea, born within the ICFO OSA Student Chapter of Barcelona, found in the OSA Student Chapter of Southampton University one of the most enthusiast participants so that, together with ICFO, Munich and Naples Chapters, Southampton was one of the four Chapters which contributed to the birth of such great initiative by taking part at the kick-off meeting in Barcelona on January 2007.  

Sticking to its nature of highly active and involved Chapter, Southampton hosted the second meeting in July of same year, which turned in a great success with 9 Chapters from all over Europe involved.

From those first steps on the IONS is literally taking off: every meeting more and more chapters attend, the OSA President has shown so interested in this project that he joined the IONS-5 in Barcelona in January 2008, and we are sure the story won’t stop here …

If you are interested in reading more about IONS in general click on the following link www.ions-project.org, or if you would like to know more about Southampton OSA Student Chapter commitment in the project continue browse this section.

For more IONS info, check the poster in B47 in the entrance area on our OSA SC notice board.