My name is Stephan Kunne and I come from France. I had the chance to spend a few months at CERN as a summer student, to follow lectures on physics, and to work on the worldwide computing grid for the ATLAS experiment. This was an exceptional opportunity for me. Before arriving here, I have been studying mathematics; the last physics class I had dates back to 2010, almost a decade ago, so my time here has been a challenge and an incredible learning experience. Attending lectures every day about all the physics of accelerators has been amazing; the enthusiasm of the lecturers for their topics was contagious.

The more I learned about particle physics, high energy physics, superconductivity, accelerators, detectors, and all the scientific and technical challenges behind CERN’s experiments, the more incredible I find it that a project as ambitious as the LHC was successful at all! I previously thought I knew the meanings of the words curiosity, experiments, and science; throughout this summer I have discovered new, deeper signification to these words.

CERN is truly a magical place. I have never in my life felt so ignorant as during the time I spent here, surrounded by passionate researchers and students from 97 countries all around the world, all gathered here for the sake of their common passion for physics. I struggled every day to find sufficiently many hours to distribute between the lectures on physics in the morning, the lectures on computing on some afternoons, my work on the computing grid, visits of all the experiments and detectors, and most importantly, to talk and exchange with all the fascinating people that I have met in this incredibly diverse and international place. On some days, I even managed to find some additional time for sleep, meals, and hiking in the surrounding mountains.

As soon as I come back, I will begin a PhD in computer science applied to medical imaging. I know the experience I gained while at CERN will be tremendously useful in the future!