CERN, the world’s leading particle physics laboratory, is on a mission to make science more accessible to the next generation. The CERN and Society Foundation, their trailblazing centre for outreach, harnesses the natural curiosity of young minds through hands-on educational programming.

Fostering a shared spirit of exploration and discovery, the connection between CERN and Rolex dates back to 1956, when CERN scientists were asked to informally test a new Rolex watch, a precision piece crafted to withstand powerful magnetic forces such as those used in the context of CERN’s particle accelerators. Today, the long-standing partnership is continuing to inspire the next generation of scientific explorers, and Rolex is the title partner of the CERN & Society Foundation. The Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative supports the Foundation’s mission to raise awareness of the ground-breaking work done at CERN.

A short drive north of Geneva is the vast campus at CERN, where the Higgs Boson particle was discovered in 2012. Here, physicists, engineers, PhD students, and educators work to answer the fundamental questions about the universe. It is work that requires the brightest minds and most advanced technologies in the world, but the spark that fuels the exploration is innately human, unburdened by country or culture. With the support of the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative, the CERN and Society Foundation is working to capture the curiosity of intrepid future scientific explorers and lay the stepping stones for a life inspired by science.

For CERN, science is a foundational language that influences every part of our lives. It was at CERN that Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989, and, more recently, where research on particle physics led to the touch screens we all use today.

The belief in the power of education to both inspire young minds and influence every aspect of our lives is realized in the Science Gateway. Rolex supported the construction of the carbon-neutral, Renzo Piano-designed centre that opened in October 2023 and is now open to the public.

In the Science Gateway, visitors can experience interactive exhibitions, take part in hands-on experiments in working labs, and visit a 900-person lecture hall, all designed to nurture curiosity for the way the world around us works in accessible and exhilarating demonstrations. Anastasia Tezari, a physicist and educator at CERN, explains that visitors are encouraged to join in “open exploration” workshops, where participants are given materials and basic guidelines, but the objective is simply to test concepts and work collaboratively.

“THE WORLD SHOULD KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE AT CERN BECAUSE EVERY DAY WE FIND OUT SOMETHING NEW AND GET ONE STEP CLOSER TO FINDING OUT HOW THE UNIVERSE WAS CREATED AND HOW EVERYTHING AROUND US WORKS.”
Anastasia Tezari, Science Educator, CERN Science Gateway

For the most curious young minds, Rolex supports the CERN and Society Foundation’s Beamline for Schools competition, amongst other educational activities. The annual programme is an opportunity for high school students from around the world to visit CERN and design a particle physics experiment, testing their hypothesis in a beamline: the trajectory of the beam of particles along a specific path of an accelerator. Competition is tough, with 461 teams from 78 countries submitting proposals in 2024. Yuzuka Sasaki, a high-school student from Japan, was one of the winners of the 2024 programme. “We’re learning many things, like measuring cosmic rays and using CERN’s data acquisition system”, she says, “but we’re also making mistakes, talking with researchers, and being allowed to play and discover.”

Development is key to Markus Joos, technical coordinator of the Beamline for Schools competition, whether students choose to go into an academic field or take the problem-solving skills they gain at CERN to a different industry. “Young scientists very quickly get specialized, but here they do everything, from electronics to communication,” he says. “If the students grow, for me, that’s as important as the scientific knowledge.”

Forged more than six decades ago, the relationship between Rolex and CERN endures today, fortified by a sense of inspiring the next generation of scientific explorers.

“CERN HAS BEEN ABLE TO REACH AND EDUCATE MORE YOUNG PEOPLE AT A LEVEL THAT WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT ROLEX. AS A PARTNER, AND A LONG-STANDING SUPPORTER, ROLEX HAS HAD A PROFOUND IMPACT ON OUR ABILITY TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC IN OUR WORK.”
Charlotte Lindberg Warakaulle, Director for International Relations, CERN

ABOUT THE PERPETUAL PLANET INITIATIVE
For nearly a century, Rolex has supported pioneering explorers pushing back the boundaries of human endeavour. The company has moved from championing exploration for the sake of discovery to protecting the planet, committing for the long term to support individuals and organizations using science to understand and devise solutions to today’s environmental challenges.

This engagement was reinforced with the launch of the Perpetual Planet Initiative in 2019, which initially focused on the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, as well as long-standing partnerships with Mission Blue and National Geographic Society. The initiative now has more than 30 other partnerships in an expanding portfolio. They include, for example, Cristina Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen, Rewilding Argentina and Rewilding Chile, offspring organizations of Tompkins Conservation, the Under The Pole expeditions, the Monaco Blue Initiative, and Coral Gardeners.

Rolex also supports organizations and initiatives fostering the next generations of explorers, scientists and conservationists through scholarships and grants, such as The Rolex Explorers Club Grants.