RCA Students’ Behind-the-scenes Glimpse at CERN

It’s not everyday you get a peek inside the inner workings of CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics. A group of School of Design students visited CERN’s Geneva headquarters as winners of The Grand Challenge. Each of the four groups – Curescan, Knowtrition, Nari and PLOC – presented their winning projects at CERN’s innovation space, IdeasSquare.

Here we get a behind-the-scenes look at one of the world’s largest and most respected science laboratories.

Eric Saldanha, PLOC team member 
MA Design Products student

‘You hear so much about what happens in CERN, but it all seems like science fiction until you go there and realise that they actually experiment with and achieve all the things you thought were just theory. The Anti-Matter Factory was mind-blowing purely because the concept seemed so unbelievable yet the proof was right in front of our eyes. The scale of the Compact Muon Solenoid detector was magnificent, a really humbling experience. The scientists and other staff at CERN, especially IdeasSquare were so approachable and welcoming...it’s a once in a lifetime experience that I will not forget.’ 

Agata Juszkiewicz, Knowtrition team member   
MA Service Design student 

‘Visiting CERN was definitely an eye-opening experience. During the project, we learned that working in an interdisciplinary team means having different perspectives and ways of working. Finding the balance within the team and a way to compromise is the key. Since finishing the project, we have all developed a more well-rounded approach to  problem solving.’ 

Helene Benz, Nari team member 
MA Service Design student

‘Being at CERN was a fantastic opportunity to connect with the passionate physicists and entrepreneurs who helped bring the Grand Challenge to life. Additionally, presenting at IdeaSquare gave my team the chance to present outside of RCA to a new audience with unique insights. I particularly loved connecting with our tutor, Dr Sameed Muhammed, who is a researcher at CERN. He gave us a brilliant crash course in anti-matter and dark matter after our visit to the Anti-Matter Factory.’ 

Pinja Piipponen, CureScan team member 
MA Service Design student

‘It was a great experience. Being able to see exhibitions and the Large Hadron Collider 100 metres below ground was memorable, exciting and taught us a lot about particle physics and our world. Meeting our mentors at the CERN’s IdeasSquare in person and presenting our ideas to them was a great way to bring the project to a close.’ 

Find out more about Programmes in the School of Design and how to apply.