To maximise the Organization’s technological and knowledge return to society, CERN offers its personnel two funding schemes: the CERN Knowledge Transfer (KT) fund and the CERN Medical Applications budget. These mechanisms provide resources to help take early-stage, innovative projects from the Laboratory to society, bridging the gap between research and industry.
Any project based on CERN technologies with high potential for impact in a field outside high-energy physics can qualify. Since 2011, over 100 projects have been funded, spanning technological fields and applications from healthcare to aerospace, with funding ranging from 15 to 904 kCHF per project.
The following articles about CERN colleagues highlight how KT support (through funding or other means) have benefited their projects:
- Gaining perspective in intellectual property– Hélène Mainaud-Durand, Mechatronics and Measurements group
- When research radiates beyond the lab– Marco Silari, Radiation Protection group
- Rooted in society– Axel Naumann, Software Design for Experiments group
- The rise of the radiation protection robots– Mario Di Castro, Mechatronics, Robotics and Operations section
- Materials that matter– Jorge Guardia-Valenzuela, Mechanical and Materials Engineering group
The development of human capital is central to KT funding activities. The grants contribute to material and equipment costs, and allow CERN teams to hire associate members or technical or PhD students to support R&D activities. The KT group can also help you assess the technology and seek external partners such as companies, hospitals or universities.
The upcoming deadline for KT funding opportunities for CERN personnel is 8 August 2022. We especially look forward to welcoming project proposals which support the environment (please have a look at the CIPEA page). If the technology you are developing can be applied to healthcare, please apply for funding from the MA budget and present your proposal – even if it’s not finalised – at one of the Medical Applications Project Forum meetings, on 15 June or 13 July. Please contact kt.medicalapplications@cern.ch as soon as possible to book your slot.
We encourage you to contact your INET coordinator or the Knowledge Transfer group as early as possible to discuss opportunities.
Read more about the funding schemes on the following pages: