Since 1988, the European Inter-Regional Conference on Ceramics (CIEC) has been organised every two years, starting from four founding European Regions. The number of Regions involved has increased over the last 20 years now covering over 10 European Regions. The last conference, organised by Swansea University was held as an Online Event in November 2021.

The normal pace of the conference should be re-established and the 18th CIEC conference will be organised by the Mechanical Spectroscopy Group (IPHYS) at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and will take place from 5 to 7 February 2024 in Vevey (Switzerland) at the Modern Times Hotel. This conference will cover all the scientific aspects concerning ceramics as well as processing, structural characterization, properties and industrial applications of monolithic ceramics, ceramic composites, glass and ceramic coatings. In particular, this conference promotes the collaboration between young researchers and supports initiatives of networking and European projects. This conference is open to all the European ceramic scientists.

The conference will consist of invited lectures, as well as oral and poster contributions. A series of presentations will be given from the committee members and their respective research groups providing an update on activities since CIEC17. In addition, a lively poster session will be encouraged, aimed particularly at young researchers. The participation of young researchers will be encouraged by low registration fees and by a poster contest.

Selected lectures and posters will be be invited to submit a paper for a special issue of the Journal of the European Ceramic Society.