The African ZEISS calendar competition generated remarkable energy, attracting talent from across the continent. What began as a technical showcase became a celebration of “living art,” highlighting microscopy’s artistic potential. ZEISS received 15 qualified applications featuring over 44 images. Application specialists first conducted a blind technical review to ensure scientific excellence. Subsequent rounds were judged by non-microscopists with an eye for beauty, prioritising visual...

From 23 to 28 November 2025, two South Africans had the opportunity to attend the EMBO Practical Course on Volume Electron Microscopy by Automated Serial SEM at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany. This intensive and insightful workshop focused on three-dimensional ultrastructural imaging approaches including FIB-SEM, serial block-face SEM (SBF-SEM), and array tomography for SEM, image data processing, CLEM, and CXEM . These approaches demonstrated how...

AfInMic International Student Microscopy Symposium 2025 (ISMS 2025) The African Inclusive Microscopy Network (AfInMic) International Student Microscopy Symposium 2025 (ISMS 2025) demonstrated strong growth in pan-African student engagement, expanding from 72 registrations across 6 African countries (2021) to 136 registrations across 14 African countries (2025) . The awards programme celebrated excellence across microscopy and spectroscopy related techniques, reinforcing AfInMic’s mission to...