Alumni Benefits - Coming Back to CERN: Alumni Share Their Stories

Did you know that one of the benefits of being part of the CERN Alumni Network is the possibility to come back on site?

The Office of Alumni Relations will be pleased to facilitate your entry onto the CERN Meyrin and Prévessin sites and to be your guarantor during your visit.

Over the past months, many alumni have taken advantage of this opportunity:

Gabriele Sciaguato visited us recently from Genova, Italy and shared how meaningful it was to come back:
“The impact of CERN was really remarkable on my career, as the experience gave me a big boost when it was time to look for another role. I really like that I can keep in touch with CERN innovations and news, and be part of a network of people with shared interests. One thing I love about the Alumni Network is that it allows me to come back to CERN — it’s wonderful to revisit the place where I used to work.”

Elspeth Garman, who first arrived at CERN as a summer student in 1975, recently returned to deliver a talk (you can find the recording here: https://indico.cern.ch/event/1559458/. Elspeth had just been reunited with John Jowett after his invitation to visit CERN, when fate added another surprise.  In Restaurant 1, they unexpectedly crossed paths with Helfried, a fellow 1975 summer student. What started as a planned meeting turned into an impromptu summer students’ reunion. Elspeth also brought along memorabilia from her student days, including her original CERN contract and handwritten lecture notes, sparking memories of a summer that continues to connect people 50 years later.

Michel Delacollette came back to CERN from Belgium with his wife. His first job was at CERN in 1977 and since then he has transferred to industry and went on to become project manager, department head, and division director, later serving on boards of Belgian and international companies. Alongside management, he pursued studies in philosophy for seven years and today supports young entrepreneurs while writing novels on political and economic philosophy. During his visit, he even gifted us a signed copy of his book “Le regard d'Éole, 14 ans...”

Jordi Burguet, now teaching computer science at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, returned to CERN two decades after working here. Reflecting on his visit, he shared: “It feels really good. It’s been a while since I’ve been here, and it was so nice to see the things that have stayed the same, as well as all the many changes that have taken place.”

He also spoke about the CERN Alumni Network: “I think it’s really great. I didn’t know it existed until a couple of years ago, and since then I’ve discovered many interesting activities. I find it to be a very useful resource.”

Natanael Dos Santos Mota chose a special way to celebrate his birthday — by returning to CERN with his wife and daughter. They shared cake in Restaurant 1 and spent the day exploring the site, making it a birthday to remember. We also had the pleasure of interviewing him about his CERN journey: https://alumni.cern/news/2762288

Being part of the CERN Alumni Network means that you too can enjoy these moments: showing your family or friends around, catching up with a former supervisor or colleagues, having lunch in R1 or R2, or even arranging a visit to one of the experiments: https://visit.cern/

👉 Find out how to plan your own return: https://alumni.cern/page/come-back-to-cern

Remember, in order to benefit from this, you need to have an updated profile. Kindly dedicate few minutes to updating your profile with your latest experience and education, location and industry before requesting your visit.