The 2018 Technical Board (TB) meeting and Supervisory Board (SB) meeting of the Laser4Fun project took place on October 4 and 5 in Bari, Italy. The meeting was hosted by prof. Antonio Ancona of IFN-CNR, Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, Bari, Italy. The TB & SB discussed the progress of the project, results, management and reporting issues, as well as communication and dissemination topics. Also all Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) presented their progress and results to the SB. We were happy to conclude the project is well on track.

The 3rd Laser4Fun international Summer School took place from October 1st to 5th and was hosted by prof. Antonio Ancona of the IFN-CNR, Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie in Bari, Italy. The participants of the summer school were “fully-immersed” into the world of Laser Micro/Nanostructuring and Surface Tribology. Lectures and presentations by academic experts and of the participants alternated, with ample time for discussions. Topics included, but were not limited to:

• Contact mechanics of elastic bodies, by dr. Ing. Carmine Putignano (Politecnico di Bari, Department of Mechanics, Mathematics and Management)
• Universal lab-on-a-chip platform for complex, perfused 3D tissues generated by 3D printing – opportunities and perspectives for laser technology, by dr. Ing. Udo Klotzbach (Fraunhofer-Institut Material and Beam Technology IWS Dresden, Business Unit Manager Microtechnology)
• Management of innovative project at Bosch: LST case study, by ing. Antonio Grimaldi and Ing. Renato Giannoccaro (Robert Bosch Group – Centro Studi Componenti per Veicoli s.p.a)
• Cross Cultural Competences through cooperation and autonomy. Learning organization: higher education management and research administration, by dr.ssa Mariapia Circella (Physics Department, University of Bari)
• Femtosecond laser micro-fabrication of pol