MAINZ Summer School: "New Directions in Spintronics Research – Spin Phenomena and Devices"

Already for the second time within the framework of the summer school series “New directions in Spintronics Research”, the Graduate School of Excellence Materials Science in Mainz (MAINZ) brought young scientists from different parts of the world together. The summer school took place in Beijing from the 24th to the 30th of September 2017 at the campus of Beijing Normal University (BNU). On the first day, MAINZ general manager Michael Fuchs greeted the participants and gave an overview of the MAINZ graduate school. Afterwards, Ruth Schimanowski from the Beijing DAAD office presented the German and Chinese international educational programs and shared her experience of living in China. The focus of the scientific program this year was on spin phenomena and devices. At the introduction, the students got an insight into the main theoretical concepts and experimental techniques applied in spintronics. One of the scientific sessions was devoted to ultrasmall magnetic bricks – single molecular magnets – and investigation of the ultrafast processes taking place in solids. In the end of the intense scientific program, world famous experts presented advanced technological achievements including quantum computing. The majority of the speakers embedded interactive problem solving in their lectures to involve the audience in the learning process to a greater extent. Two poster sessions facilitated exchange of ideas and networking between German and Chinese students. As a part of the scientific program an excursion to the Beijing Synchrotron facility was offered to the participants. This brought the students closer to understanding the state-of-the-art experimental techniques widely used in the field of spintronics. The workshop was also rich with the cultural events. The welcome dinner took place in a neat German restaurant, while a Chinese restaurant was chosen for the farewell dinner, providing an opportunity to take delight in the western and eastern delicacies. A language course gave basic knowledge of Chinese for Germans and vice versa in combination with information about national habits and ancient legends. The Great Wall excursion on Saturday was truly a highlight of the cultural program enjoyed by the guests as well as local participants. As the last but not least point, we would like to acknowledge financial and organizational support of the Chinese colleagues from BNU and their warm welcome in Beijing.

Sebastian Emmerich, Mariia Filianina, Tobias Fischer & Alexey Sapozhnik (MAINZ Student Organizers)