ETOP 2001:
the 7th International Conference on Education and Training in Optics and Photonics,
26-30 November 2001, Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore

Chair's report

Education and Training in Optics and Photonics for the 21st Century:
Building a Global Network for International Cooperation

The conference on Education and Training in Optics and Photonics (ETOP) is a biennial international conference dedicated to optics and photonics education and training. Since its inception in 1988 in San Diego, California, USA, the conference has subsequently been held in Leningrad, USSR (1991); Pecs, Hungary (1993); San Diego, USA (1995); Delft, the Netherlands (1997); and Cancun, Mexico (1999). ETOP 2001, the 7th conference in this series, was held on 26-30 November 2001 at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, since it is anticipated that the optics and photonics community and industry in Singapore and the Southeast Asian region will be growing rapidly in the coming years.

The proceedings volume contains the manuscripts of the 72 papers presented at the conference, the summaries of the Roundtable Discussions on "Global Networking for Local Technician Education: Problems and Solutions", and synopses of the workshop on "Alternative Teaching and Training Methods in Photonics" and the two short courses on Fiber Optics and Tissue Optics.

This conference was characterized by its truly international participations. First, the Program Committee consisted of members from Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Central and South America, Europe, Russia, and the USA. For the first time, there were more committee members from Asia, as compared to those from the USA and Europe. This strong Asian representation was also reflected in the number of participants (27) and papers (23) presented at the conference. Participations from the Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philipines, Thailand, and Indonesia were equally impressive, with a total of 18 participants and 17 papers. Among all the countries, Singapore was at the top, with 12 participants and 12 papers. In comparison, the number of participants from North America (including Canada and USA), Europe, and Australia were, respectively, 21, 13, 7, and 4; and the corresponding number of papers presented were 24, 11, 7, and 7.

Another characteristic of ETOP 2001 was its wide representation from educators at all levels as well as the high visibility from industry and professional societies. For the first time, this conference brought together educators from around the world to share their vision, methodology, and experience relevant to the education of students from primary and high schools, to community colleges and universities. In particular, recent developments in the formation of photonics learning and research centers at the premier secondary schools in Singapore, namely, The Chinese High School and the Raffles Institution, were reported, generating much attention from the participants.

A main focus of the conference was technician education and training . In addition to the various programs reported by different institutions, a Roundtable Discussion session was held following the presentation of technical papers, with the theme "Global Networking for Local Technician Education: Problems and Solutions." A panel of 13 members from different countries led the discussions that involved more than 30 participants. An outstanding achievement of this session was the enthusiasm and consensus among all participants that a global network must be formed to enable the exchange of information and sharing of resources in this critical area. Reports on future activities will be distribute through appropriate channels and all people who are willing to contribute their ideas and efforts are welcome to join this network.

Cooperative programs developed in Australia, Canada, China, the European countries, Singapore, and the USA were also reported. The success of these programs is attributed to the collaboration of academia, government, the industry, and professional societies at the regional, national, and international levels. In particular, the formation of optics clusters around the world in recent years has led to the initiatives for the development of integrated education and training programs for the sustainable growth of the optics and photonics enterprise. Indeed, this conference has achieved its goal of providing a timely platform for building a global network for international cooperation on education and training in optics and photonics for the 21st century. In this context, the papers published here will definitely serve as an important source of reference for many years to come.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the sponsoring and cooperating organizations for their contribution to the success of this conference, and the dedication of all members of the Program Committee and the Local Organizing Committee, as well as the Conference Secretariat, Notchez International Pte. Ltd., Singapore, in making this conference a great success.

Tuan-Kay Lim, Conference Chair
Arthur H. Guenther, Conference Co-Chair