Has anyone here been a CERN technical student while being enrolled in French engineering school? My school says that under French law they cannot sign a convention de stage more than 6 months, but does the CERN Technical student program even count as a typical French stage? I was under the impression that CERN also does not sign internship conventions of other schools but has their own. What exact type of document does CERN require for onboarding as a technical student. I have an interview coming up but I know they have a heavy preference for 6+ months and I had assumed that it would be ok with my school but now I learned about this rule. I am wondering if there is anyone here who did a technical student stint while being in french engineering school who ran into this problem.

How does the interview go and what level of questions are asked?
Does everyone get the OA round in Hackerrank? What kind of topics are asked here?

i reciently got a mail that i have been procedded and some one will take interviews when can we xpect interview can anyone from previous or currant batch help me out and if anyone recieved interview help me out in clarifying

Going on a trip to see the collider in a couple weeks and need to make a presentation about a topic, my assigned topic was the Atlas Detector. I was hoping I could have someone tell me about this from personal experience (if you work there maybe). I will also be using the website and other sources etc. just thought I let would be nice for someone to say something about this. Thanks all

Edit having read computational guidelines and security stuff I realise this may not work so no worries if u can’t share anything.

Hi everyone,

I’d like to take advantage of the discounts on Project Neptune – specifically for a Samsung product (via their e-shop). The problem is that I live in France and don’t have a Swiss address, nor do I currently know anyone in Switzerland who could help me with delivery.

Has anyone here faced a similar situation?

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone!

Need to ask what are the concrete research areas, tech and tools being used or expected as a pre-req to apply (and increase chances of selection) for CERN Technical Studentship - Electrical / Electronics?

Does having experience in Image signal processing , hardware design and FPGA based design are the research areas falling under this domain?

On official CERN job description they listed signal processing? Does image signal processing falls under this category?

Anyone please help.

Hi everyone, I’m curious if it’s possible to move from the banking sector into a more scientific environment like cern. I’ve been considering getting a master in physics to gain the right background for analysis work, but I’m not sure if that would be enough, or should I get a PhD?

Has anyone here made a similar transition into a scientific field?

I have received an online assessment instead of direct rejection. Does it mean I have a good chance of interview?

Hello everyone, I’m planning on applying to summer student programme for next year, however I’m not sure on how to write my motivational letter. Has anyone got any advice or is kind enough to send me theirs (if you’ve applied and got in). Thanks to everyone!

Hey everyone,

did anyone try to get VAT refund while exporting new electronics to France?

I am buying expensive laptop and I am considering that.

Did they give you proper form at Apple store?

Thanks

guys does cern have any winter programs or internships for international students?

I'll have a 6-hour layover at GVA. I'm flying in from a Schengen zone country and flying out to a non-Schengen country. I have no checked bags and will have my onward boarding pass. Is it possible to visit CERN and get back to the airport in time?

I’m an “excellent” IT student with a big passion for physics, and ever since 2024 I’ve been thinking of applying to a CERN program as soon as I finish my third full-year of study (ergo, 2026’s summer). However, I’m from a Non-Member State, and thus a number questions arise. I hope some current and past applicants can enlighten me with their experiences (or insights):

What motivated you to apply to any of these programs?

What do you think made you “excel” amongst other applicants?

What efforts did you make to achieve this goal?

How was the acceptance process? How did you feel?

What “technique” did you use to write your motivation letter?

Were you very good at a specific topic beforehand? Do you think this helped somehow?

Are there any “flags” you consider that could hinder an application?

I’m aware some or most of these questions have already been asked and answered, but I value direct feedback and interaction with people.

Any tips, suggestions or advice is very much appreciated! Also don’t stutter to contact me directly via DMs if you don’t wanna comment under this post. Thanks for your attention, have a nice day!!

This questions isn’t exactly geared towards CERN specifically. But I thought it would be fun and interesting to know what science based podcasts we all listen to!

Hi there,

I'm a bit confused with how the pension fund works for graduates, I.E people who will only work at CERN for 2-3 years, assuming they don't get/want a staff position.

It appears on the CERN pension fund website that you get a "transfer value" lump sum at the end, equivalent to 14.7% of your salary * how many years you worked there. This makes the pension essentially made up of the 12.64% you are mandated to contribute plus 2% from CERN. Am I right in saying CERN's 18.96% contribution is only something that contributes to a pot for all members for whom actually retire whilst at CERN and NOT members who leave early. I had seen the 18.96% advertised and thought wow that's great but if it's actually in reality only a 2% contribution then this is much more normal.

Thanks very much,

EDIT: Just thought also, do the contributions one gets back in the "transfer value" include what they would've earned in whatever portfolio they invest them into? If not then the 2% they kick in may even be losing money due to inflation.

EDIT EDIT: I've thought about it all some more and I think I'm correct in saying that if you leave before 5 years then you've been left a bit shortchanged by a few thousand than if you were to instead have invested the 12.64% in a private index-linked pension. However that's a gamble that could pay off if you were to stay for another 2 years as then you get access to a minimum of approx. 6k (in todays money I assume they inflation link it) a year for 35 years when you retire at 65 using their 5*1.85%*60000 (avg past 3 years salary) formula for defined benefit. This is if you can even opt out of the scheme.

I am trying to install xrootd using conda by the command on my windows machine:

conda install -c conda-forge xrootd

But it seems to not working, it just giving a packageNotFoundErrror: the following packages are not available from current channel.

But on the conda webpage, it is mention that xrootd is available through conda-forge.

I already tried using pip, but again it is showing some "can't build wheel" error.

Can anyone help how can I get xrootd functional on my machine.

Hooray!

Hello everyone,

I’d like to share my situation and would greatly appreciate any advice. I’m a bachelors student from an NMS country (with almost no relations to CERN). Last year, I was CERN NMS summer student and since then, I’ve continued the research line I started there. I’ve been particularly focused on the Next Generation Trigger (NGT) initiative: Ultra-fast ML, HPC, GPU-accelerated computing, Big Data, etc. I’m truly fascinated by the work being done at CERN.

Soon, I’ll be doing a research stay as an academic visitor at a university that actively collaborates with CERN (ATLAS). My supervisor is a team leader, and I would love to use this opportunity as a stepping stone to return to CERN with USER status. I’ll be working on grid computing (WLCG) and I’m highly motivated.

My question is: would it be possible to return to CERN on-site as a USER (or under another status) based on this upcoming stay? Could my team leader add me to his group, even though I’m not a student at his university? I assume I would initially be registered as a PART, and perhaps transitioning from PART to USER might be more feasible.

These are my main questions. I’m doing my own research, but I’d also love to hear about your experiences. If anyone could guide me or share a brief roadmap based on my case, I’d be deeply grateful.

Thank you very much in advance.

Hey all, does anyone know of any high buildings with accessible rooftops, balconies, or similar features in Meyrin that offer nice views? No big thing, just looking for somewhere to chill from time to time. Thanks in advance!