The 9th Powder Metallurgy Summer School organised by the European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) took place in Kosice, Slovakia from 22nd to 26th June 2009 and this year was part funded from the reserves of the EPMA.
Superbly hosted by Dr Eva Dudrova and her team at the Institute of Materials Research of the Slovak Academy of Science the programme was coordinated by Prof José Manuel Torralba of the University Carlos III of Madrid with support from Joan Hallward of the EPMA. As in previous years, there was great demand for the course, with applications exceeding places by more than two to one.
During five days 52 students from throughout Europe had the opportunity of meeting and discussing with leading experts in PM from both academia and industry. The course consisted of a mixture of presentations, group discussion and practical laboratory work. The culmination of a week of study was a night out at a local restaurant where students and lecturers entertained each other with what has become a Summer School tradition, their own version of the Eurovision Song Contest.
The EPMA hopes to run another PM Summer School next year. Further information will be made available on the EPMA website early in 2010.