Celebrating 10 years of IdeaSquare: Giving you the license to dream
On the 8th of November, we invite the CERN community to celebrate IdeaSquare’s 10th anniversary with us!
Conveniently located on CERN’s new campus sits IdeaSquare, a vibrant hub for science, innovation, and creativity. IdeaSquare provides a space where prototypes for CERN collaborations, Knowledge Transfer (KT) projects, and EU initiatives linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals can be rapidly developed. It also hosts educational programs for students, workshops, hackathons, and offers unique meeting spaces.
With a license to dream.
This year, we mark ten years of success at IdeaSquare. It is not just an anniversary—it’s a celebration of countless collaborations, groundbreaking projects, and innovative solutions that have emerged from this space. It stands as a testament to the vision set into motion ten years ago on IdeaSquare’s inauguration day.
At this anniversary event, we will reflect on the thriving community of innovators we’ve built, both at CERN and beyond. We will share stories of how IdeaSquare came to life and the vision that has driven its success. Looking ahead, how can we continue fostering science, creativity, technological advancement, and social impact?
We invite the people from the CERN community with a CERN badge,—whether you are an avid user of IdeaSquare or a curious mind eager to learn more about it, to join us! You will meet fellow members of the CERN community, exchange ideas, and explore possibilities for future collaborations.
Whether you are an engineer, physicist, designer, or simply someone with a curiosity for innovation, there’s a place for you at IdeaSquare—and at this event.
Register today and secure your place :
Register here
We hope to see many of you on 08 November at 11:00 at The Globe of Science and Innovation.
Date: 08th November 2024
Location: The Globe of Science and Innovation, CERN.
Doors open: 10:25
Event start: 11:00
Event in The Globe of Science and Innovation ends: 17:38
The goal of the day is to come together to enjoy both fascinating talks and good food in the company of great people. Use this link to register!
Reminisce about the early days of IdeaSquare, its creation, its triumphs and its challenges. Let's shape the future of IdeaSquare together!
Join us as we welcome:
- Pablo Garcia Tello
- Markus Nordberg
- Kalevi "Eetu" Ekman
- Harri Toivonnen
- Mar Capeans
- Sergio Bertolucci
- Jonathan Wareham
Timeline for the day:
- 11:00 Morning session
- Lunch, provided on site
- 14:10 Afternoon session 1
- Coffee, provided on site
- 16:15 Afternoon session 2
- 17:30 End
Register here
Read more: Where did it start and what's to come?
Though we celebrate our anniversary this year, the origins of this project trace back to 2011.
A two-story container building was adapted inside CERN’s Meyrin site, which students helped transform by painting it to resemble a double-decker red bus with white windows. The space quickly proved too small for the scale of the project, and in 2014, IdeaSquare moved into its own building just outside the CERN gates, solidifying its accessibility to both the public and CERN employees. It was at this time that the red two-story container became a real bus and was driven all the way from London to CERN by Chris Thomas.
“The scope of the project is to bring together researchers, engineers, people from industry and young students and encourage them to come up with new ideas that are useful for society, inspired by CERN’s ongoing detector R&D and upgrade projects,”
said Markus Nordberg on the 9th of December 2014, during IdeaSquare’s inauguration day (IdeaSquare opens today | CERN (home.cern)).
Together with Marzio Nessi, they took the initiative to add a societal dimension oriented towards fundamental science and set up IdeaSquare within CERN’s Development and Innovation Unit.
Since its beginning, IdeaSquare has hosted numerous hackathons, networking events, seminars, and multidisciplinary workshops, and currently serves 500-600 students per year. Alongside student events, the facility also proudly supports CERN personnel and their projects.
The past and the present of IdeaSquare.
One of the cornerstones of IdeaSquare’s mission is bringing ideas to life through rapid prototyping. IdeaSquare consists of 700 m² of experimental space and 140 m² of prototyping labs. As part of this celebration, we are upgrading our equipment and space throughout this year and the next. Our prototyping facilities will be updated with new equipment, the bus will get a well-deserved deep clean, and on your next visit after this event, you may find a new space to reflect on your latest prototype or discovery.
Since its inauguration day, IdeaSquare, has acquired 50 partner institutions residing in 18 countries worldwide, held more than 140 prototyping workshops and courses just from the years 2021-2023, and published over 100 articles.
We invite you to explore IdeaSquare. Whether it’s your first time experimenting with prototyping technology or you’re a seasoned innovator, our facilities and in-house prototyping expert can help guide you in bringing your vision to life.
Join us—Let’s build the future together
At IdeaSquare, we have spent the last decade creating a space where innovative thinking and pioneering technology come together to address global challenges inspired by fundamental research at CERN. Looking to the future, we remain committed to expanding our impact, welcoming new ideas, and fostering collaboration inside and outside CERN.
Our 10th-anniversary event is an opportunity to be a part of this exciting journey.
Register today, meet other curious minds, and help shape the next decade of breakthroughs. Do not miss your chance to join the future of innovation—come celebrate with us at IdeaSquare.
Register here
We hope to see you at 11:00 on the 8th of November 2024, in the Globe of Science and Innovation!