Research on innovation and education

Not just physics

A research group has been created at IdeaSquare to focus on improvements for its educational programmes, and study emerging student practices. In this research, the group applies IdeaSquare’s holistic, multidisciplinary approach to innovation, and is now sharing its findings by publishing papers and attending conferences.

To date, we’ve worked on three study topics:

Futures’ educational needs
Students’ use of generative AI during the programmes
Students’ relationship to the future

Research team

Giulia Gaddi

Giulia Gaddi is currently a PhD candidate in anthropology at the Laboratoire d'Ethnologie et de Sociologie Comparative (Université Paris-Nanterre) and is doing her fieldwork at CERN IdeaSquare. She collects qualitative data about the CERN IdeaSquare core team for her future thesis on innovation, human-technology relationships and technological transfer. She completed her Master's in Social Sciences with a specialisation in anthropology in 2021 at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, with a final project about the social impact of CERN on the Pays de Gex area. On top of her thesis, she is involved in interdisciplinary research conducted at CERN IdeaSquare on the development of its methodologies to train students in transformative innovation.

Giulia Gaddi Anthropology

Jimmy Poulaillon

Jimmy has a background in sociology and computer science. Before coming to CERN IdeaSquare to do science communication and research, he worked in different fields. He was first a developer for several years, then ran a company as a multimedia designer and photographer in the field of sports. After a while, he went back to the university where he studied sociology and political science for five years. He has a strong interest in science and technology studies, as well as sustainability, and is currently working on studies at IdeaSquare related to futures' education. His fields of expertise are sociology of knowledge, politicisation and sustainability.

Jimmy Poulaillon Sociology

Mikko Sairanen

Mikko is the coordinator of research activities at IdeaSquare and a final-stage PhD Candidate at Tampere University, Finland. He obtained his Master's degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from the same university in 2022, majoring in Project and Technology Business and minoring in Circular Economy. Mikko has a keen interest in sustainability and, through his doctoral work, holds special expertise in sociotechnical innovations for a low-carbon circular economy. He has worked in multiple international research consortia and published articles in esteemed peer-reviewed journals of his field. At IdeaSquare, Mikko acts as the Co-Managing Editor of the CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation (CIJ) and oversees the interdisciplinary and collaborative innovation research activities of the space.

Mikko Sairanen Industrial Engineering and Management

CERN Accelerating science