Summer brings the opportunity for many of us to spend time enjoying the company of our families and friends. It also brings a new generation of young people to CERN – the summer students.

We often talk about the extended CERN community as a being like a big family, where the common bond is the science we do. The summer students who join us every year are in many ways the newest additions to this family.

This year we have welcomed 276 students in total, with an impressive 133 from non-member states. As usual they are joining in the learning experience that the programme offers and taking the opportunity to socialise. However, this year they are showing a particular enthusiasm for developing activities together that are linked to spreading the message about CERN.

They’ve shown great support for the CERN Summer Student Webfest – now in its second year - where they were invited to work in teams and design web apps that will encourage the public to learn more about science, CERN, the LHC and particle physics. The judges were impressed both by the numbers participating and by the range of ideas. A member of the winning team will go to the Mozilla Festival in October, where they’ll be able to mix with inventors and thinkers from around the world who are passionate about the web.

So the summer school programme is not only an occasion for students from all kinds of backgrounds to learn together. It’s also a chance for them to collaborate in organising their own activities. And it’s a great opportunity to meet new people and form friendships, which in many cases last for a long time, with people from all around the world.

Welcome to the family!