Successful BIPM-SIM UTC Summer School
The BIPM-SIM UTC Summer School was held from May 7-9, 2025 at CENAM in Queretaro, Mexico in association with the 2025 IEEE IFCS-EFTF symposium to address several regional challenges in time and frequency metrology by providing intensive training to expand workforce capabilities. With sponsorship from UFFC and run by BIPM-SIM, the school welcomed students from all experience levels and had a total of 34 participants from 18 nations across North and South America, Europe, and Asia.
Participation was focused on individuals who were fulfilling technical time and frequency roles related to UTC and timekeeping, with a focus on SIM member institutions. Through hands-on sessions and expert-led tutorials, the school supported capacity building in labs facing resource constraints by offering practical knowledge in areas like UTC basics, GNSS receiver calibration, time scale implementation, and time and frequency analysis techniques.
Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, summed up by Raúl Fernando Solís Betancur (CENAMEP AIP - Panama):
“Participating in the SIM-BIPM Summer School was a great opportunity not only to stay up to date with the latest works in the Time and Frequency international community but also to share the knowledge and experiences each laboratory has on the road to developing their UTC(k). It was also a great opportunity for networking with colleagues and strengthening the ties within the SIM Time and Frequency community.”
Future related events include:
- The BIPM UTC Summer School Sept. 9-11, 2025 at the BIPM, Sevres, France
- Two CCTF Technical Exchanges June 25th and July 9th, more details here CCTF Working Group on TAI (CCTF-WGTAI) - BIPM
If you are interested in this topic, UTC-related courses can be found here.