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ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ is part of a new €4.5 million European Doctoral Network funded under the Marie SkÅ‚odowska Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, supporting training in advanced photonic technologies.

The project, SPARK – Spatiotemporal Photonic Technologies, has been awarded funding through the highly competitive MSCA Doctoral Networks scheme and will run for 48 months.

The network will train 15 doctoral candidates across Europe through a coordinated research and doctoral education programme.

Photonics underpins many modern technologies, from high-speed communications and sensing to computing and artificial intelligence. However, current photonic systems are often static, slow to adapt and increasingly energy-intensive. SPARK aims to address these limitations by developing new approaches to controlling light that are faster, more flexible and more efficient.

The training will combine research in metamaterials, structured light, ultrafast optics and nanophotonics, equipping early-career researchers with skills that span theory, design, fabrication and application.

A central focus of the programme is moving beyond conventional optical components towards spatiotemporal photonic systems that can dynamically manipulate light’s frequency, phase and momentum.

Research and training activities are organised around three interconnected areas: developing spatiotemporal metamaterials and their theoretical foundations; generating and controlling spatiotemporally structured light using metasurfaces and photonic crystals; and demonstrating early applications for ultrafast computing, imaging and communication.

International collaboration with Imperial involvement

SPARK brings together universities and research institutes across the Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom, alongside 10 non-academic partners from the photonics sector. The network is coordinated by Professor Humeyra Caglayan at Eindhoven University of Technology.

Imperial’s contribution is led by from the Department of Physics, who will contribute to both the research programme and the training of doctoral candidates as part of the international consortium.

Professor Sapienza said, “Bringing together some of Europe’s leading researchers, this consortium will deliver an ambitious research and training programme, equipping the next generation of scientists to work on spatio-temporal light and metamaterials.”

The award forms part of the 2025 MSCA Doctoral Networks call, through which the European Commission is funding 141 doctoral programmes to support the training of more than 2,000 doctoral researchers across Europe.