Hands-On Synchrotron Training at FUNLAYERS Summer School
From 1–4 July 2025, the FUNLAYERS Summer School took place at our partner ALBA Synchrotron in Barcelona, bringing together 19 PhD students, 8 invited speakers, and 7 tutors for an immersive, hands-on training experience in 2D materials and synchrotron-based characterisation techniques.
The school offered participants a unique opportunity to deepen their understanding of advanced materials research, with a strong focus on the experimental capabilities offered by synchrotron light.
A key highlight of the programme was the practical beamline training. Students engaged directly in hands-on sessions at four ALBA beamlines:
BOREAS – soft X-ray absorption and magnetic circular dichroism
LOREA – angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy
CLAESS – hard X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy
NCD-SWEET – small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering
Participants also took part in data treatment and analysis sessions, gaining practical skills that are directly applicable to their research.
The school closed with a pitch session, where students presented how they intend to apply what they learned to their own doctoral research. This interactive format encouraged reflection, communication, and the integration of new tools into their scientific workflows.
The FUNLAYERS Summer School successfully combined foundational training with real-world experimentation, empowering early-stage researchers to bring synchrotron techniques into their doctoral work. It also reinforced connections between researchers, institutions, and infrastructures across Europe.
