IdeaSquare - the innovation space at CERN
ideasquare.cern
R&D&I, EU projects, Educational programmes, Prototyping, Interactive Events, Innovation knowledge
Find all our links here: linktr.ee/cernideasquare
- From an imagined exoplanet to one of Earth’s most pressing space challenges!Students from Riga Technical University joined our IdeaSquare Planet program, where they focused on designing future satellite strategies for the exoplanet Luminis, weighing priorities, trade-offs, and societal consequences.
- They then applied the same mindset to Earth, comparing possible futures and proposing recommendations supported by qualitative reasoning and rough quantitative estimates. Thank you to the Riga Technical University students for their creativity and engagement.
- IdeaSquare Planet is a novel methodology developed at CERN IdeaSquare in collaboration with partners and staff to help participants tap into their creativity and tackle complex problems.
- IdeaSquare welcomed the children of Jardin des Particules for an educational exercise exploring environmental effects and the fundamentals of data transmission.
- Through playful activities using basic materials and simulating the transmission of a small picture, the kids learned how different types of pollution affect our world as well as how an image can be transformed into code. It is never too early to learn!
- Are you an early bird? Join the 2026 CIJ Summer School on experimentation-driven research methodologies at CERN IdeaSquare in Geneva (8–12 June 2026). Applications are now open! Full details and application instructions are available on the event page: indico.cern.ch/event/1622011/
- This tuition-free program offers hands-on, interdisciplinary training combining lectures, workshops, roundtable discussions, and an on-site experiment.
- Don't miss this unique chance to learn from leading experts of experimental research methods: Living labs: Ellen van Bueren & Marcel Musch Laboratory experiments: Eric Guerci Design science: Raymond Opdenakker PhD & Leona Chandra Kruse ... along with various experts from CERN and CIJ
- Open to PhD students and senior academics from any discipline. The program also includes visits to CERN experimental sites and a social networking dinner. Early bird application deadline: 15 February. Final deadline: 15 March Details and application instructions on the event page!
- Building 'The Forge' In December 2025, IdeaSquare closed off part of its space to make some major upgrades. Our newest transformation brings the 3D Printer Studio and three containers together into one large prototyping space - we also gave the machine shop a much-needed facelift.
- Welcome to 'The Forge': A large central worktable for ambitious builds, a modular peg wall for flexible setups, and a space designed to support rapid prototyping from idea to iteration.
- We documented the entire process. Stay tuned as Nick and Dina take you through the journey in three short interviews. IdeaSquare is proud to invite the community to come prototype with us!
- Reposted by IdeaSquare - the innovation space at CERNCERN wishes you a very #HappyNewYear! In 2026, we will prepare for the installation of the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (#HiLumiLHC) – the successor to the world’s most powerful particle accelerator – while shaping the next generation of discovery machines.
- New issue of the CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation! Innovation is an act of "boundary spanning"—a persistent effort to navigate the cognitive, structural, and institutional frontiers that separate scientific inquiry from societal impact. e-publishing.cern.ch/index.php/CI...
- This week we welcomed CBI students from University of Bologna! They were the last group of students at IdeaSquare for 2025!
- Challenge Based Innovation (CBI) is a project course where multidisciplinary student teams and their instructors collaborate with people at CERN to discover novel solutions for the future of humankind.
- The projects are an elaborate mixture where societal, human-driven needs meet systemic innovation approaches. In this edition, students from University of Bologna incorporate IdeaSquare's new flagship program: IdeaSquare Planet (i2Planet).
- Participate in a new PhD Summer School at CERN IdeaSquare on experimentation-driven methodologies, 8th–12th June 2026!
- Through seminars, roundtables, workshops, and a hands-on experiment, you'll learn how to actively intervene in research settings to tackle complex challenges.
- Led by top experts of design science, living labs, and laboratory experiments in innovation research, the programme offers practical skills, methodological insights, and networking opportunities. Applications will open in early 2026, so stay tuned!
- What is the effect of first and second language use on divergent thinking in problem solving? Discover it here: e-publishing.cern.ch/index.php/CI...
- Reposted by IdeaSquare - the innovation space at CERNA sustainable future depends on choices made today. #GEO7, the most comprehensive assessment of the global environment ever undertaken, outlines the five transformations needed to protect nature, strengthen societies, and build a healthier planet. Find out more: ow.ly/pSkL50XHkG2
- An inspiring experimental methodology that can be used to nurture creativity, problem-solving, co-creation, and team collaboration is LEGO SERIOUS PLAY. Learn more in CIJ's latest methodological note: e-publishing.cern.ch/index.php/CI...
- Today IdeaSquare is hosting a hackathon focused on brainstorming and developing new features for the CERN Document Server (CDS) and its underlying Invenio framework, together with the CERN Library and developers.
- The CERN Document Server is CERN’s institutional platform containing articles, reports, multimedia content, and other material from CERN and the High Energy Physics community.
- Did you know? If you search for “IdeaSquare” on CDS, you can find event photos, progress reports, and even related articles. You can also explore keywords like “Higgs Boson”, “experiment”, and many others to discover interesting papers, videos, and images.
- Last Friday, IdeaSquare hosted the global launch of Lumina, Interfaces, the first Holo Art Anthology-celebrating art, science and innovation.
- The event featured an inspiring panel of speakers: Dr. Martha Boeckenfeld, Tom Donaldson, and Nardo Manaloto, with a keynote from Joseph Fowler. Their perspectives sparked conversations on creativity, technology, collaboration and interfaces. The event was curated by founding artist, Mariam Brian.
- Reposted by IdeaSquare - the innovation space at CERNT-minus 8 hours 😁 Join us tonight, at 20:00 CET, to watch nine finalists from around the world step onto the stage at CERN to compete in the world’s longest-running science communication competition. Join us live: www.youtube.com/live/EZRj71l...
- Developing creativity in higher education can be challenging because of the differences in students’ personality- and cognitive traits, creative competence and learning preferences. Learn more: doi.org/10.23726/cij...
- Innovation education for the future: a case study of CERN IdeaSquare Planet Learn more: ideasquare.cern/node/475 And read the full paper here: doi.org/10.1080/2331...
- The research team at IdeaSquare has just published a scientific paper suggesting its programmes develop essential futures skills, providing practical insights for educators interested in implementing similar methodologies for transformative innovation education.
- With the future being increasingly perceived as uncertain, education must develop skills to foster sustainability and responsibility in unpredictable circumstances. IdeaSquare Planet, a programme at the intersection of innovation and transformative futures education, works towards meeting this need.
- New issue of the CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation! Browse it here: e-publishing.cern.ch/index.php/CI...
- The articles in this issue suggest that the future of effective innovation does not lie in the dominance of algorithmic efficiency over human cognition, nor in rejecting automation.
- Instead, success depends on a "Hybrid Intelligence" model where formal innovation processes are rigorously applied to speed up execution and reduce risk, while simultaneously leveraging linguistic and contextual diversity to create the "cognitive friction" necessary for high-quality decision-making.
- Reposted by IdeaSquare - the innovation space at CERNCERN celebrates LGBTQ+ in STEM Day Today we celebrate and highlight the work of and barriers facing LGBTQIA+ people in science, technology, engineering and maths. To mark the date, the Progress Pride flag will fly above the Esplanade des Particules for the third year. 🔗 home.cern/news/news/ce...
- FameLab international final 2025! Vote for the best science communicator! The international final of this world-leading science communication competition takes place on 25th November at CERN. Read more: indico.cern.ch/e/famelab-2025
- Members of the TECH2X educational team meet at IdeaSquare!
- #TECH2X – Technology for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Excellence is a 2-year project which aims to boost the innovation and entrepreneurial capacity of the consortium’s HEIs to foster deep tech talent and respond to the need to transition towards the 4th generation university model.
- The actions and activities in TECH2X are designed to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship capacity at institutional level, fostering pathways between challenge-based innovation courses that are technology driven, and entrepreneurship capacity building to move forward promising projects.
-
View full threadThis meeting on the work package "Education and training for deep-tech innovation capacity building" aimed to improve the quality of tech-driven innovation education at HEIs.
- Geneva's diplomatic community engages in dialogue on quantum technology with Open Quantum Institute and International Telecommunication Union and with the support of the Permanent Mission of Belgium Wallonie-Bruxelles à Genève. Learn more: ideasquare.cern/node/474
- At the opening of the EIT Education and Skills Days conference on 15–16 October in Brussels, one sentence set the tone: “Resilience is not built in factories.” CERN IdeaSquare’s Ole Werner was there representing #TECH2X to find out more. Learn more: ideasquare.cern/node/473
- From 20 to 24 October 2025, more than 40 participants from NGT @cmsexperiment.bsky.social, @atlasexperiment.bsky.social, and other NGT work packages gathered at IdeaSquare for the second edition of the Next Generation Triggers Hackathon. Learn more: ideasquare.cern/node/472
- The peace particle New documentary on the history and future of CERN Information and registration: indico.cern.ch/e/peace-part...
- Call for papers for a CIJ special issue on 'Co-creation'! Learn more: e-publishing.cern.ch/index.php/CI...
- IdeaSquare recently received the 2025 cohort of students from the TechFoward Programme – an advanced training course that connects academic research with market innovation. Learn more: ideasquare.cern/node/466
- LHC experiments need innovation to squeeze every single drop of performance from their current and future detectors. Enabling such innovation requires a lot of time and focus, and can benefit from exchanges with experts working in other areas or groups.
- For the 2nd NextGenTriggers Hackathon, members of @cmsexperiment.bsky.social and @atlasexperiment.bsky.social divide into teams and meet frequently to discuss how each solves one problem and how they'll try to solve the next.
- Among the elements the teams are working on, we can find, for example, the correlator trigger, the particle flow in L1T scouting workflow, or even the orchestration systems. Happy hacking! #NextGenTriggers
