This year CERN welcomed more than 250 students from all over the world as part of its summer student's programme (Credits: Julien Ordan, CERN)

Each summer CERN welcomes undergraduate students from all over the world to pursue research projects in physics or related science and technical disciplines.

During an intense programme that lasts from 8 to 13 weeks, students have the chance to develop their own scientific projects and immerse in immerse in certain aspects of frontier research. In addition to their work as members of an experimental team, students are offered a series of introductory lectures on a variety of topics: from particle physics to accelerator technologies. The variety of topics offers a deeper understanding of the mission of the laboratory and its ongoing R&D programmes.

Moreover, summer students have the chance to visit various sites around CERN, including experimental and accelerator areas, and get a hands-on experience in CERN workshops. Like previous years, they had the chance to present their work in a dedicated poster session in CERN’s main building. Like every year, the organizers had prepared a rich and diverse programme of activities in order to offer the students an unforgettable experience.

A group photo in front of CERN's R2 restaurant (Credits: Anna Mestvirishvilli @CERN). 

CERN’s summer students programme offer a multidisciplinary and multicultural environment that not only provide valuable skills to participants but also inspires them to think about a scientific career. It demonstrates that CERN is not only a centre of scientific excellence but also a place that trains the scientists and innovators of tomorrow.  After all, many former Summer Sudents have gone on to bright careers in science and they have often facilitated scientific collaborations between CERN and their countries!

Being part of CERN’s summer student programme is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make valuable and long-lasting contacts with fellow researchers from all over the world. More than 250 students from 50 countries travel to CERN every summer becoming part of a big and diverse mosaic of cultures.

Among them you can meet in this issue: Kathryn Coldham from the UK who worked on the High-Granularity calorimeter for CMS, Ann Njeri from Kenya joining the team the develops a new GEM facility, Diyaselis Delgado López from the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico involved in data analysis for CMS, Paul Richard Stein working on simulations for the performance of the electromagnetic calorimeter for a future collider and Sabrina Milagros Zacarias working for the RD50 collaboration.

Explore an interactive map and travel around the world with their stories*.

The author would like to warmly thank Mrs. Despoina Driva (HR - Member States Summer student programme) and Mrs. Eszter Badinova (IR - NMS Summer Students Programme) for their help in the preparation of this article. 

*Despite the effort to make this interactive map functional in all browsers there are still some known issues that we are trying to address and offer a better experience.