The first esss (European Summer School for Scientometrics) took place at the Humboldt University in Berlin from 16 to 18 June 2010. The event was jointly organised by the University of Vienna (Austria), the Humboldt University (Germany), the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) and the iFQ (Institute for Research Information and Quality Assurance, Germany). esss was launched as a response to the increasing demand for scientometric expertise in the field of bibliometric methodology and its applications, on the one hand, and to the insufficient educational opportunities on bibliometric techniques, on the other hand. The esss 2010 ‘‘pilot’’ started ‘‘small, but beautiful’’ and gave a premium foretaste of what to expect in the future. The opening day (16 June) was dedicated to keynotes and lectures delivered by the organisers and invited international experts in this field. Wolfgang Glanzel (KU Leuven, Belgium) set the stage for the morning keynotes and provided a synopsis of the development of bibliometrics, followed by Anthony van Raan (Leiden University, the Netherlands) who shared his vast expertise on advanced bibliometric indicators for research evaluation. Andras Schubert (ISSRU Budapest, Hungary) then introduced the audience to the analysis of scientific networks, and Koenraad Debackere (KU Leuven, Belgium) finally presented concepts and tools driving innovation policy. In the afternoon Wolfgang Glanzel first talked about bibliometric initiatives and the institutionalisation of the field in Europe. Henk Moed (Elsevier, the Netherlands) continued