Summer Studentships at CERN
2014
Three Summer Studentships will be available at CERN – The European Organisation for
Nuclear Research  for University of Malta undergraduate students who are currently
registered at Year III and Year IV level in B.Eng. (Hons) courses and B.Sc. (Hons) courses,
and Year III in the B.Sc. ICT (Hons) courses of the University. The studentships run for two
months in July and August 2014. Each studentship consists of an introductory course in
CERN-related science and technology and a small project tailor-made for undergraduates
within a CERN research team.
Eligible students who are interested in being considered by the University of Malta for these
studentships are to send a copy of their CV, course transcript to date, area of interest, email
address and telephone number, and any other relevant information to the undersigned, or to
Mr. Keith Cauchi, Level 1 Block B, Room 33, ICT Building, by not later than Thursday
19thDecember2013.
Some background information is given below.
Prof. Joseph Micallef
Faculty of ICT
joseph.micallef@um.edu.mt
12th November 2013
CERN Summer Student Programme
The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) is an international organisation that
performs non-military fundamental research. It is situated on the Franco-Swiss border close to
Geneva. Since 1954, its model for cooperation, has become a shining example of international
collaboration world-wide bringing together 6500 top-notch physicists, engineers and computer
scientists from over 500 institutions of over 80 countries. It is the largest laboratory of its kind
in the world and it is currently building the largest and most powerful scientific instrument ever
constructed by mankind; a particle accelerator known as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
The LHC is 27 km long and will act like a giant microscope to understand better the laws of
nature, particularly the composition of matter and the forces that act on it. It is a scientific
colossus which started in 1982 and was launched in 2008 and is not only a scientific and
political challenge but a financial one too: in total the LHC will cost around 6.5 billion Euros.
This cutting edge technology may have profound implications in physics, engineering,
computing and medicine ranging from the infinitely small (nanotechnology) to the infinitely
large (cosmology).
For the fifth year running, CERN is offering Maltese nationals to participate in the CERN
Summer Student Programme. This programme offers undergraduate students of physics,
computing and engineering a unique opportunity to follow a specialised lecture series and to
join in the day-to-day work of research teams participating in experiments at CERN. Beyond
the outstanding first-class scientific value of their stay, the selected students will find working
in a multidisciplinary and multicultural environment an extremely enriching personal
experience. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make valuable and long-lasting contacts
with other students and scientists from all over Europe.
Aerial view of CERN and the surrounding region. 3 rings are drawn to show the position of the accelerator
complex situated underground. The small ring shows the position of the Proton Synchrotron with a circumference
of 600 m, the middle ring is the Super Proton Synchrotron with a circumference of 7 km and the largest ring is the
LHC. The Geneva Lake and the Geneva airport can be seen on the right whilst the Jura Mountains can be seen on
the left.