The encounter of the physical worlds of Slovakia and Great Britain

On March 19, 2025, under the flag of NCPXFEL, a meeting of invited scientific groups from Slovakia and Britain focused on the topic of “ultra-fast X-ray imaging” was held at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in London.

Leading Slovak and British scientific groups in the field of ultra-fast X-ray imaging came together to discuss the development of new technologies, the latest research relevant to numerous sectors, and gain new connections to wider communities.

The workshop was opened by the Executive Director of the European XFEL, Dr. Nicole Elleuche. The main speaker was a Slovak scientist working in Hamburg, Dr. Patrik Vagovič, whose technological setup is used by Slovak and British scientists for groundbreaking experiments in the field of health and materials research. The content of the workshop was completed by user presentations, after which a lively discussion developed regarding future collaborations. Thanks to the workshop, previously unexplored synergies were created in the community, which will undoubtedly move the EU’s competitiveness to a higher level in the mentioned topic. UPJŠ was represented at the event by a team led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jozef Uličný, PhD. from the Institute of Physics of the Faculty of Science of the UPJŠ.

We would like to thank not only the speakers, but also Jana Pivoňková from E-XFEL in Hamburg and the collaborating employee with NCP XFEL, Nina Spišiak from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Martin Cushing from the British Embassy in Bratislava for organizing the event.