This meeting is for established scientists, post-graduate students and industrial researchers interested in ultrafast control of the physical properties of materials by light excitation and/or THz excitation. Given the rapid development of experimental techniques, including XFEL science, THz science and various pump–probe techniques, and developments in the theory of ultrafast, out-of-equilibrium and multiscale processes driven by light or THz excitation, this meeting will provide a roadmap of where the field is and what the challenges are over the next 5–10 years and beyond.