Mandatory from the 1st of January 2022, all public bodies, research organisations or higher education institutions established in an EU Member State must have in place a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) “or equivalent” to be eligible for participation in Horizon Europe projects.

Already in line with the European Commission’s reinforced commitment toward gender equality, CERN Diversity & Inclusion and EU offices have developed the CERN GEP in a dedicated web page.

In July 2022, the Organization’s senior management have endorsed the GEP.

Read the CERN article on GEP here.

In September 2021, the 32nd edition of the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) held in Salamanca, Spain assembled 158 promising young scientists aged 14 to 20, coming from 34 countries. EIROforum organisations awards a limited number of Special Donated Prizes to contestants who, according to the EUCYS Jury, would benefit from the specific experience that these prizes offer. CERN awards a one-week visit to the Laboratory and its experiences.

In June 2022, CERN welcomed two young German students, Leo Neff and Leonard Münchenbach, for a rich programme of visits to detectors, experiments, facilities and CERN’s S’cool LAB. Meetings with engineers, physicists, guides and computer scientists were a great opportunity for them to build network for their future careers.

Their project on “Physical description and modelling of paper strip flights” consists of using a formula to precisely calculate the phenomenon of the speed of the paper strips of a certain shape and size rotate when they fall. They constructed a frame and used slow-motion camera and computer software to investigate a wide variety of stripe shapes.

Both students, after their visit, are considering coming back to CERN to follow their scientific career.

On 18-19 January 2022, the EU projects office organised the second edition of the “EU funded projects-demystified!” training.  

With 12 participants, the second edition has been a success among the CERN community. Nikolaos Charitonidis, HiRadMat facility coordinator “found the training very useful, giving practical insights on how to prepare and deal with a large-scale EU project”.  

Containing six modules, the training “taught […] how to gather and structure the information needed to translate an idea into a proposal” explains Anna Manou, IT-EU assistant. From the proposal phase to the final periodic report, with information about the administrative, legal and financial aspects and communication, the training gives a better knowledge, whether you want to submit a proposal or want to know more about EU projects.  

“The practical details or the hints that the trainers provided on how these proposals are seen from the other side of the table were extremely useful.”, illustrates Nikolaos Charitonidis. More than a training, you will learn tips and hints on how to submit a successful project and how to handle it better when funded.  

Another edition will take place at the end of summer; stay tuned for more information by registering to the EU newsletter.