Engaging young non-scientists in the world of particle accelerators through interdisciplinary youth programs

How can particle accelerators address environmental issues? Last summer, the EU-funded I.FAST project, Challenge Based Innovation (CBI), gathered highly motivated students from all across Europe to find innovative answers to that question. Working from scratch in 4 multidisciplinary groups including humanities specialities like business, law and communication in each group, each team identified a specific environmental challenge and developed an innovative solution involving particle accelerators.

The presenter, Reema, was the communication specialist for the winning team, "Human Beams".for their project "Cyan".

The team's idea aimed to eliminate toxic green algae blooms using a compact electron beam accelerator to tackle excess build-up of nutrients in the water.

Spent ten days attending high-level seminars on accelerators and learning about their environmental applications, Reema could get into the world of particle accelerators. At the end of the challenge and by the help of i.FAST intense seminars and professional mentors, she was able to run the PR campaigns for the idea, to present it in front of the jury in CERN main auditorium and to win their preference.