CERN Alumni and 4TU.Join Forces to Celebrate CERN’s 70th Anniversary in Delft

This week, the picturesque city of Delft hosted a memorable joint event celebrating 70 years of CERN's groundbreaking contributions to science and innovation. Co-organised by the CERN Alumni Network and 4TU.Alumni, the gathering brought together a dynamic mix of scientists, engineers, alumni, and other professionals.

4TU.Alumni which co-organised this first national meeting of CERN linked alumni in the Netherlands is a shared network of the four Dutch technical universities – TU Delft, TU Eindhoven, University of Twente and Wageningen University & Research which collectively have over 300,000 graduates around the world. The network celebrating its 10th anniversary spans over 30 local communities in ten countries and facilitates meaningful connections between alumni, students and the ‘4TU’ universities.

The evening commenced with a heartfelt welcome by Ena Voûte, TU Delft’s Pro Vice-Rector of International Affairs.

Joe Laufer, alumni officer at the University of Twente and part of the 4TU.Alumni team, was the evening’s host and in his introduction highlighted the impressive footprint of 4TU graduates linked to CERN with nearly 60 currently employed in the organization and over 400 alumni who were former staff and interns. Joe also mentioned that two 4TU.Alumni gatherings had already been hosted in Geneva at CERN with the help of local volunteers including one just last year with the Dutch Ambassador to Switzerland Karin Mössenlechner present.

Rende Steerenberg, CERN’s Management Liaison for the Netherlands, then delivered an engaging opening address. With a career spanning over two decades at CERN, Rende is a Head of the Operations Group, overseeing the entire CERN accelerator complex, including the LHC. He captivated attendees with insights into CERN’s ongoing ventures, including the LHC High Luminosity upgrade and prospective future colliders.

The evening continued with a series of short interviews, during which attendees—including CERN alumna Trisha Farooque—took the spotlight to share personal reflections on CERN’s profound impact on their careers.  Simona, from CERN’s Office for Alumni Relations, shared updates on the “Third Collisions” reunion, which welcomed alumni back to the CERN campus earlier in the year. And Jaap Niewold, a CERN Alumni Eindhoven Group Manager, discussed local alumni activities and the significance of regional networks in fostering community engagement.

The event concluded with a lively networking session, where old connections were rekindled, new relationships formed, and ideas for future collaborations explored.

As the Office for Alumni Relations continues to connect and engage its global alumni community, events like this remain vital for celebrating achievements, fostering collaboration, and championing CERN’s mission to advance science for the benefit of humanity.