Last years AIT Microscopy Workshop 2018 attracted 20 young scientists from all over the world, meaning the course was fully booked. Doctoral students, postdocs and academics from universities and industry from Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Sweden, Hungary, UK and the Czech Republic attended an intensive one-week training course in Austria. In addition to practical exercises in small groups and lectures, we were able to expand the program this year with attractive guest lectures. The detailed program can be found in the annex. Prof. Hanns-Heinz Kassemeyer from the University of Freiburg presented his Cryo SEM results in the lecture The Plant Surface as a Preformed Barrier and Contact Zone in the Host-Pathogen Interaction. Prof. Miroslav Ovecka from the Palacký University in Olomouc provided fantastic insights into the world of plant developmental biology using Light Sheet Microscopy. Prof. Levi Gheber (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel) gave a presentation on the physics of Atomic Force Microscopy and a course in practical image analysis.

A special highlight was the demonstration of a tabletop electron microscope from Hitachi with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for the chemical elemental analysis of the samples by Videko. Joint discussions in poster sessions and an evening at the Christkindlmarkt followed by dinner completed the demanding program of the week.