News & Events

Stay updated with the latest news, events, and workshops from the GLC research initiative.

Upcoming Event Series

Expert Survey: Privacy and Ethics of Light Exposure Data

As we build open infrastructure for harmonizing real-world light exposure data, we want to better understand its ethical and privacy implications. In particular, we are interested in how this data fits within a two-dimensional privacy framework based on identifiability (how easily individuals can be identified) and health inferentiality (how much information about a person's health can be inferred from the data).

Your anonymous responses will directly inform the GLC's data governance and FAIR data-sharing frameworks.

Global (expert survey)

Take the Questionnaire →

Past Events

June 18, 2026

Exploring Ocular Light Exposure in Tropical Climates — Costa Rica

Our team visited the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), hosted by Andrea Sancho-Salas, to exchange ideas on ocular light exposure in tropical climates and explore how the built environment and climate shape this health-relevant part of daily light exposure.

Special thanks to Jose Vargas Hidalgo for his insights into how local urban design has evolved over the decades to create spaces where people can engage with one another and with nature. We look forward to expanding this collaboration.

San José, Costa Rica GLC team, Universidad de Costa Rica

Meet Andrea Sancho-Salas →

May 06, 2026

LightLogR Course Series Wraps Up — 150+ Researchers Reached

We wrapped up our online course "Open and reproducible analysis of light exposure and visual experience data" — 8 interactive sessions reaching over 150 researchers around the globe.

All session recordings are now available, and the full course remains accessible indefinitely for anyone who wants to work through it at their own pace. The LightLogR package used throughout the course is open source on GitHub, and the full webinar series is archived at tscnlab.github.io/LightLogR_webinar/.

Online (Worldwide) 150+ researchers worldwide

View LightLogR on GitHub →

April 15, 2026

First Advisory Board Meeting: Progress, Insights, and Priorities

GLC held its inaugural Advisory Board meeting on 15 April 2026, bringing together all seven board members to review progress, share results from the MeLiDos campaign, and gather strategic input on data harmonisation and global representation.

The MeLiDos campaign has now collected data from 191 participants across 9 sites in 7 countries — roughly 1.1 million minutes of eye-level and 1.7 million minutes of chest-level light exposure data, one of the largest multi-site light exposure efforts to date. Key discussion topics included data harmonisation as the field's biggest practical bottleneck, the need for consent-verification infrastructure, and the priority of building Global South research capacity.

Munich, Germany (hybrid) 7 Advisory Board members, facilitating GLC team

Meet the Advisory Board →

March 11, 2026

New Microgrant Programme for LMIC Researchers and Dataset Harmonisation

GLC launched a two-track micro-grant programme supporting data collection and harmonisation activities for the Global Light Commons: Track 1 (EUR 3,000) for data collection and harmonisation in LMICs, and Track 2 (EUR 1,500) for harmonising existing datasets to GLC standards.

Applications closed 30 April 2026, reviewed on a rolling basis. The programme was designed to lower barriers to participation and accelerate a globally inclusive, interoperable resource for light exposure and visual experience research.

Global (LMIC focus)

View Micro-grant Programme →

October 07, 2025

LightLogR Training Series 2025–2026

Join our practical, reproducible, and interactive tutorials covering two learning tracks – Beginner and Advanced – each delivered via Zoom.

June 17, 2025

World Health Organization International Advisory Committee Meeting on Non-Ionizing Radiation

Our Principal Investigator, Manuel Spitschan PhD, shared insights on how everyday light exposure influences sleep, mood, metabolic and mental health, and why light should be treated as a vital factor in public health policy and guidance.

Virtual Event International Advisory Committee

View Presentation Slides →

May 22, 2025

Launch of Light for Public Health Initiative

This initiative was sparked by the Ladenburg Roundtable, where international experts built consensus and a path from research to real life. The result: 26 evidence-based statements to help healthcare professionals, educators, urban planners, and public health leaders put healthy lighting into practice.

International Expert Collaboration

Visit lightforpublichealth.org →

April 04, 2025

KNUST / TUM-Ghana delegation

Our team visited Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST) in Ghana, supported by the Technical University of Munich Global Incentive Fund (TUM GIF).

Together with our collaborators we explored an extensive dataset on everyday light exposure they collected in Ghana as part of the MeliDos project and discussed how we can bridge key knowledge gaps around light's impact on circadian and ocular health.

Kumasi, Ghana 8 Participants

View Event Details →

March 26, 2025

Interactive Workshop on Visual Experience

We are committed to building solutions that foster broad collaboration and big impact! On 26 March 2025, we opened our first collaborative workshop, joined by colleagues from across the globe.

We sat down for an engaging conversation about how we collect and analyse data currently and about future directions. From smart watches to contact lenses fitted with sensors, our session highlighted a shared need for standardization and a privacy-first mindset when approaching data collection and storage.

Online (Worldwide) Representatives from 9 countries

View Workshop Materials →

February 05, 2025

GLC Kicks Off

The GLC team assembled in our Munich office to celebrate the launch of our new project. With big goals, the team dove headfirst into reimagining how light exposure data is collected, stored, processed, and analyzed.

In keeping with our focus on light, we closed the day with a visit to Luisa Baldinucci's multi-sensory installation "Afterglow" at Haus der Kunst - much more to come, stay tuned!

Munich, Germany GLC Core Team

View Launch Photos →