Jena Lokal - Local News, Events & Culture
Your update on city life, tips, and upcoming events in Jena.
Jena, 29.04.2026. When NASA flies to the moon, high-tech from Thüringen is mandatory on board. At the “Space Night” in Jena, Jena-Optronik CEO Peter Kapell emphasized the essential importance of the local industry for international space missions.
On Monday, start-up founders from across Germany presented their innovative business ideas to an expert jury in Jena. A young physicist from India attracted particular attention with plans for a new space project.
Thüringen’s Minister for Education, Science and Culture, Christian Tischner, paid an official visit to the Deutsches Optisches Museum (DOM) in Jena to discuss its transformation into a modern science center.
On Tuesday, a state-of-the-art new research building for the Fraunhofer Institute was ceremoniously inaugurated in Jena. With the new facilities and laboratories, research capacity at the site will be significantly expanded.
A technology company from Jena has developed a virtual eye test to detect vision defects faster and more efficiently, further cementing the city’s reputation as a global center for optical technologies and photonics.
JENA (17.02.2026) – Once again, Jena proves its reputation as a center for optics and photonics. The local startup Perceptec has secured significant funding to fundamentally change the way we have our eyes tested. With nearly one million euros in funding, a new process is to be brought to market maturity.
The Jena-based startup Perceptec GmbH receives approximately 930,000 euros in funding from the Free State of Thüringen to develop an automated, 3D-based virtual eye test aimed at addressing the shortage of skilled workers.
Jena is known worldwide as a City of Light, but many are unaware that a significant part of the light spectrum known today was discovered right here. This week, a historical milestone in physics takes center stage: the discovery of ultraviolet radiation by Johann Wilhelm Ritter over two centuries ago.