Dresden Congress Award 2018

Fraunhofer FEP one of the finalists at Dresden Congress Award 2018 for its SID-ME 2017 international conference “Wearable and Projection Displays”

Fraunhofer FEP /

Beginning in 2004, the Dresden Congress Award has honored committed scientists, entrepreneurs, and congress organizers who have brought congresses and conferences to Dresden, the Saxony state capital, and successfully organized them. The award is a symbol of intellectual exchange, of communication in the sciences and research, and of striving for social and technical progress. This year, the scientists of the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP are honored to be a finalist in the category "Focus Dresden” for hosting the SID-ME "Wearable and Projection Displays" international conference in Dresden in 2017.

SID-ME 2017 "Wearables and Projection Displays" Conference with accompanying exhibition.
© Dresden Marketing
SID-ME 2017 "Wearables and Projection Displays" Conference with accompanying exhibition.
Finalists at Dresden Congress Award 2018.
© Dresden Marketing
Finalists at Dresden Congress Award 2018.
SID-ME 2017 "Wearables and Projection Displays" Conference with accompanying exhibition.
© Dresden Marketing
SID-ME 2017 "Wearables and Projection Displays" Conference with accompanying exhibition.

The Saxony state capital, as a "Smart City" and home to the Excellence University TU Dresden, hosts top-class scientific conferences. Cutting-edge research is an important driving force for the city, known as a leading location for innovation. This is recognized by the unique bi-annual Dresden Congress Award. Its bronze sculpture symbolizes the bridge between the sciences, commerce, and the city promoted by these congresses.

With their research and development of OLED microdisplays, among other areas, the scientists of the Fraunhofer FEP in Dresden work on building this bridge through their daily activities, especially between application-oriented research and industry. The Fraunhofer FEP has achieved outstanding research results in the field of OLED microdisplays and sensors for a wide variety of applications over a period of more than 10 years. These have led to numerous collaborations and technology transfers to industry.

Last year, the Fraunhofer FEP was awarded the contract for the SID Mid-Europe (SID-ME) Spring Meeting 2017 a second time, with the focus on "Wearable and Projection Displays". The conference as well as the keynote speakers, lectures, and presentations by 20 internationally renowned speakers, including Microsoft, Siemens, Kopin Corp., Osram, the Technische Universität Dresden, and the University of Cambridge, attracted more than 100 participants from 18 countries worldwide to the Saxony state capital.

Dr. Uwe Vogel, head of the Microdisplays and Sensors division at Fraunhofer FEP, explains: “The highlights of the events were top-class keynote speakers such as Bernard Kress from Microsoft as well as other invited speakers from the industry, such as from LG, Samsung, and MICROOLED from France. In addition, the two-day program with its technologically outstanding lectures (selected by the program committee comprising representatives of additional companies and universities such as Intel, Sony, Zeiss, and the University of Edinburgh) was complemented by a busy exhibition, poster session, and an accompanying program of two different scientific tours to the two Fraunhofer FEP locations in Dresden North and the Institute headquarters at Winterbergstraße.”

The conference was rounded out by the involvement of additional partners in Dresden. At the evening event in Dresden's historic city center, the participants had the opportunity to admire its splendour from the roof terrace of the baroque Zwinger Palace accompanied by a laser show, and exchange ideas in a relaxed atmosphere.

Evening event in Dresden's historic city center with laser show at the baroque Zwinger Palace.
© Dresden Marketing
Evening event in Dresden's historic city center with laser show at the baroque Zwinger Palace.

This commitment shown by the Fraunhofer FEP over the course of the SID-ME international conference is now being recognized with the Congress Dresden Award in the category "Focus Dresden". Dr. Uwe Vogel accepted the award on behalf of all Fraunhofer FEP scientists on November 15, 2018.

As the recipient of the Dresden Congress Award, the Fraunhofer FEP will continue its efforts in the coming years to organize and conduct meetings and conferences. Initial discussions have already taken place.