Rector participated in flag ceremony marking Estonia’s full membership in CERN

On 17 October, Rector Toomas Asser accompanied President Alar Karis to the flag-raising ceremony at the headquarters of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva to celebrate Estonia becoming a Member State.  

The delegation took a tour of the CERN headquarters and met Fabiola Gianotti, Director-General of CERN, who gave an overview of the organisation’s activities. The meeting focused on strengthening scientific cooperation, the innovation capacity of businesses and increasing investment in research and development. The delegation also had the chance to meet Estonian scientists working at CERN and see the work of the world’s largest particle accelerator.  

In the afternoon, they visited Campus Biotech, a Swiss centre of excellence in biotechnology and life sciences focusing on neuroscience, digital health and global health research.  

Estonia became a full member of CERN in August this year. For the University of Tartu, this means widening its existing research, education and business cooperation opportunities. Estonia has voting rights on the CERN Council, Finance Committee, and Scientific Policy Committee. Participation in the Council gives Estonia the opportunity to have a say in the decision-making processes and governance of CERN, including planning new scientific programmes and experiments.  

Estonia has been involved in CERN’s research programmes before; for example, as a member of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) particle detector experiment since 1997.  

Read more about CERN membership.