SPIE Biophotonics Summer School

A powerful international exchange of scientific ideas and technological advances of biomedical optics

Where transformative science meets transformative community

The SPIE Biophotonics Summer School, formerly the Hven Biophotonics Graduate Summer School, was founded in 2003. The biennial school provides graduate-level biophotonics education for students and first-year postdoctoral researchers at the highest international level. Participants gather together for a packed week on the island of Ven, a small island in the strait between Denmark and Sweden, to learn from renowned lecturers from all over the world, present their research in poster sessions, and foster important connections in this growing field. The result is a fully immersive and transformational experience.

Students, staff, and faculty from the 2023 Biophotonics Summer School gather together

A rich history of moving biophotonics forward

Peter E. Andersen and Stefan Andersson-Engels were the school’s original founders more than two decades ago and continue to collaborate to bring it to life each session. The program is rooted in the importance of biophotonics, including lasers; light sources; and optical methods, systems, and instruments based on light interaction with tissues, as a powerful technique with valuable life-science applications and clinical and therapeutic applications. It has become a cornerstone within the biomedical optics community, growing a large alumni network of more than 600 previous participants, including many who’ve gone on to become leaders in the field.

Founders Peter E. Andersen (DTU, Denmark) and Stefan Andersson-Engels (IPIC, Tyndall) present the Best Poster Award in 2023

Join us in 2025


The next program will take place from 7 - 14 June 2025. The school registration fee is $1,300 USD, which covers meals and accomodation.

Distinguished presenters for the 2025 session include:

  • Keynote lecturer: Professor Patience Mthunzi-Kufa, CSIR, South Africa
  • Lecturers: 
    • Professor Kishan Dholakia, University of Adelaide, Australia
    • Professor Hamid Dehghani, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
    • Professor Irina V. Larina, Baylor College of Medicine, USA
    • Professor Laura Marcu, University of California, Davis, USA
    • Professor Seemantini Nadkarni, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA
    • Professor Brian Pogue, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
    • Professor Eric O. Potma, University of California, Irvine, USA
    • Professor Gijs van Soest, Erasmus Medical Center, The Netherlands
    • Maciej Wojtkowski, ICTER, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland
  • Workshop organizer: Dr. Gavrielle Untracht, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark

Applications are due 28 February 2025. Send any questions to outreach@spie.org.

Apply online