Welcome to the web page of the 8^th Venice International School on Lasers in Materials Science (SLIMS). The School is organized in the framework of activities of the Venice International University (VIU) and continues the tradition of previous editions of the School, which took place at the same location on the Isola di San Servolo in the lagoon of Venice in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2022.

The School provides opportunities for students and young researchers from different countries to interact with each other and to establish international collaborations. While a number of well-established international conferences regularly bring together researchers working in the field of laser-materials interactions, the School is unique in that it aims at educating doctorate students in the principles of laser-surface interactions and bringing them up to date with current state-of-the art in laser materials processing and manufacturing. The lectures are given by experts from academia and research centers worldwide. The lectures have didactic character and are connected with each other into a coherent syllabus covering the mechanisms of laser-materials interactions, relevant experimental and computational techniques, as well as current and emerging applications in laser processing and manufacturing. Although the School is geared towards the level of a PhD student, advanced undergraduate and Master students, as well as postdoctoral researchers are welcome to join.

The students are asked to bring posters presenting the results of their research projects or research plans for new projects. All posters are presented for the whole duration of the School and are discussed by the participants during the daily poster sessions. The students give brief oral presentations of their posters and participate in the Best Student Presentation Award competition in the categories of (dedicated to the memory of Roger Kelly).

You can find more information and photos from the past editions of the School here.

The 8th SLIMS has succesfully completed, with 35 students from 15 countries and 4 continents spending a week of intense learning and discussions at the island of San Servolo. You can find some snapshots of the 8th SLIMS below, with more photos accessible to school's participants at the internal part of this web site. The next SLIMS will take place on July 12 - 19, 2026, and this website will be updated with information about SLIMS-2026 sometime in 2025. Please start planning your trip to San Servolo in July of 2026!