The BIPM Metrology Summer School 2008 will be held from 29 June to 11 July 2008.
Following the tradition of the very successful Varenna Schools on Metrology and Fundamental Constants organized in Italy by the Italian Physical Society, the BIPM Metrology Summer School plays a complementary role in being specifically directed towards young scientists from National Metrology Institutes who are beginning their careers in international metrology.

Joining me as co-directors of the BIPM Metrology Summer School 2008 are Dr Alan Steele from NRC in Ottawa (Canada) and Dr Mike Sargent from LGC in Teddington (United Kingdom). The scientific secretary for the School is Dr Claudine Thomas from the BIPM.

Organized around the subject of the International System of Units (SI), the Summer School will address the upcoming possibilities for change arising from proposals to fix the values of a number of fundamental constants. More than forty internationally renowned scientists have been invited to lecture on their particular areas of expertise, grouped into four main themes:

1. From classical SI to new SI
2. The international organization of metrology
3. Metrology in Chemistry and its applications
4. Metrology in Physics and its applications

In addition to these exciting lectures, several other activities are also scheduled, including workshops, poster sessions, and laboratory tours both at the BIPM and at the new facilities of the French National Metrology Institute, the Laboratoire National de Métrologie et d'Essais in Trappes. To maximize the benefit to students of two weeks in Paris and to help them make new friends from around the globe, we have also planned cultural events and have allowed time for social interaction.

A select group of about eighty students, drawn from the National Metrology Institutes of Member States and of Associates of the CGPM and at an early stage of their careers, will have the chance to attend lectures by world experts in measurement science.
Our objective is to provide an opportunity for these future leaders of international metrology to obtain an overview of our field, and to establish the essential personal links and networks that will be so useful for them and the whole community as their careers progress.