ECTS credits:
2.5 ECTS
Course parameters:
Language: English
Level of course: PhD course
Time of year: Summer 2026
No. of contact hours/hours in total incl. preparation, assignment(s) or the like: 24 hours at Aarhus, lectures, exercises, 16 hours at the European XFEL and DESY in Hamburg. onsite instruction + tutorial, VLab work + exercises
Preparation course materials reading: 15 hours
Homework and presentation/report: 8 hours
In total: 63 hours
Capacity limit: 13 participants
Objectives of the course:
This graduate course is for PhD students and other researchers who wish to use X-ray free electron lasers (XFEL) in their research. The course provides the student with an introduction to the basics of the world’s most brilliant X-ray — XFEL and detailed functional view of contemporary XFEL beamlines around the world. This course features an innovation teaching method, using a Virtual Lab software to execute students’ own live experiments at European XFEL Hamburg. Students have opportunities to look inside each technical component and make live adjustment to align X-ray laser beams and collect physical meaningful data for a realistic experiment. It will cover the techniques of femtosecond X-ray emission spectroscopy and pump-probe femtosecond X-ray diffractions. The collected data will be analyzed in computer exercises and compared with real-world published results in the literature. In addition, the course will take place in European XFEL facility in Hamburg, Germany, including an on-site visit and tour in experimental hutches. Besides virtual-lab experiments, exercises, on-site visits, and lectures, students will also learn writing beamtime research proposals and get insight into the peer review process.
Learning outcomes and competences:
At the end of the course, the student should be able to:
develop ideas of how X-ray free electron lasers could be applied in his/her own research
Compulsory program:
Participation in 80% course components, including lectures, virtual lab experimental, computer exercises and on-site visit at EuXFEL Hamburg.
Course contents:
Below is a preliminary outline of the course, subject to changes until course start.
Preliminary program for joint Aarhus-Hamburg XFEL Summer Course 2026 | ||||||
| Monday Aug.3 | Tuesday Aug.4 | Wednesday Aug. 5 | Thursday Aug. 6 | Friday Aug. 7 | ||
Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark | EuXFEL/DESY campus in Hamburg, Germany | |||||
| 9-11 | welcome receiption; Introduction to XFEL (Robert?) with background info on synchrotron | Time-resolved-XES (principles, VLab, with C. Bressler, EuXFEL/UUH) | A guest lecture (TBD) | Intro to EuXFEL by COM, location: EuXFEL Lighthouse, time: 10:00 (start)-12:00 (end) | data analysis / L&S | |
| coffee break | ||||||
| 11.30-12.30 | Introduction to Vlab (C Bressler, EuXFEL, UUH) | A lecture (Simon Wall) | real XFEL data analysis exercises | "XFEL tours (exp hall) SASE2 :MID, HED SASE1: FXE, SPB/SFX SASE3 SCS, SQS, (SXP)" | student talk preparation / L&S | |
| lunch break | ||||||
| 14-16 | Time-resolved Femtosecond X-ray Diffraction experiments (theory/basics, VLab, S. Wei) | Vlab Exercises with guided operation (Christian Bressler) | Exercises with Q& A | FLASH tour + talk | oral presentation (exam I) and wrap up / L&S | |
| coffee break | ||||||
| 16.30-17.30 | Vlab Exercises with guided operation (Christian Bressler) | Vlab Exercises with Q & A | 16.00 Bus trip to Hamburg. Meeting point: in front of Chemistry buidling (Langelandsgade 140, DK-8000 Aarhus C ). Bus departs at 16:15 (sharp), no waiting. | VLab Exercises / Light&Schools | Back to Aarhus Bus trip | |
| evening | Arrival at EuXFEL/DESY Campus guesthouse and check-in | free | ||||
Instructors and guest lecturers (TBD)
…TBD
Exam:
Presentations (in groups) of the results from VLab experiments
Prerequisites:
Own Laptop (best: windows-based)
Notebook for notes
Bachelor degree or similar within natural science, technology, or medicine (e.g. basic courses such as Materials Chemistry I, or Solid State Physics, or Structural Chemistry I, or Physical Chemistry, or Inorganic Chemistry I, or Ultrafast Science, or similar)
Type of course/teaching methods:
Lectures, Virtual Lab experimental exercises, computer exercises, on-site visit, tutorials, discussion, presentations.
Literature:
S. Boutet, M. Yabashi, “X-Ray Free Electron Lasers and Their Applications” in X-Ray Free Electron Lasers: A Revolution in Structural Biology, S. Boutet, P. Fromme, M. S. Hunter, Eds. (Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2018; pp. 1–21.
Course assessment:
Compulsory program for participating the exam and obtaining the ECTS:
Participation in 80% course components, including lectures, virtual lab experimental, computer exercises, discussion, and on-site visit at EU XFEL Hamburg.
Provider:
Aarhus University
European XFEL
Hamburg University
Special comments on this course:
Bus trip will be organized from Aarhus, to Hamburg, to Lund. Accommodation will be on-site at EuXFEL guesthouse or DESY guesthouse.
Time:
Aug 3- Aug. 7, 2026
Place:
Aarhus + European XFEL (Hamburg)
Registration:
Deadline for registration is June 25, 2026. It is open for all PhD students, master students, and postdoc and young researchers. There are limited spots in the course and priorities are given to students from Danish university and University of Hamburg and their partner universities. Students enrolled in Danish universities are free of charge. Students from outside of Danish universities will have to cover their own accommodations and travel cost.
Note: If there are not enough students enrolled, the course may not be offered this year.
For registration:
Send emails to the following for registration:
Students will be informed of the course enrollment outcome by July 1.
