Press area – a world too! : 15,000 high school students have been welcomed into CEA centers in 10 years

With “A scientist, you too!” CEA offers a unique opportunity for high school students in science and technology to discover different aspects of research careers in a tangible way.

During quick meetings, technicians, engineers, and researchers talk about their backgrounds and talk with young people about career guidance possibilities.

The day is interspersed with visits to laboratories and facilities, workshops and mini-conferences on societal topics such as energy, health or cybersecurity.

For Nathalie Sciardis, Head of CEA’s Culture, Science and Society Network, “Through this process, our goal is to encourage careers for research careers. Speed ​​dating, for example, is a great tool that illustrates a very wide range of careers and research topics; it also shows that The profession of science is not automatic and the way to reach it is not always in a straight line; that scientists are not necessarily good students, they may have been plagued with questions before entering the world of research; and that is a good thing because research always encourages them to ask themselves questions…”.

some numbers
Since 2012, 15000 high school students Received at 10 CEA sites
Almost every year 200 researchers Participate in the event and 50 labs Open their doors.

Full view digital edition

As health restrictions have complicated event organization at certain centers over the past few months, a digital edition of “Science, You Too! Let’s Build Tomorrow’s World Together” now completes the process. In 2021, 5,600 high school students watched 3-day mornings live from their schools. Each of these meetings provided a conference by Roland Lehawk, Etienne Klein and Alexei Greenbaum, as well as a round table on tomorrow’s professions and the main challenges of society, on the topics “Climate, Future Medicine, Simulation and Information Technology”. , “Energy, Deterrence and Resilience” and “Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data, and Cyber ​​Security, How to Navigate?”. Students were also able to participate in quick jobs and live chat with 15 young scientists. An operation carried out in partnership with the Regional Academic Directorate for Higher Education (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur).

Given the success of this “remote” version, a next digital version is scheduled for the end of 2022, on the topic of future health/medicine.

Some examples of actions

The “You World Too!” initiative Part of a more global approach to spreading science culture and raising youth awareness of scientific challenges and careers.

In 2016, CEA established the “Science pour tous” process, during which grade 9 students from REP institutions, for their observational training in a professional setting, are welcomed into its research laboratories. To enable more university students to benefit from this system, CEA and the Essonne Science Association have established the “Third Science Training Network for All”, with support from the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and the involvement of the Association of Museums, Centers for the Development of Scientific, Technical and Industrial Culture (AMCSTI) and many partners.
CEA also provides educators with many free educational content and multimedia materials that can be used in SVT, Physics, Chemistry and Technology courses. Resources are also available on the topics of energies and radioactivity. The levels involved: Cycle III, college, secondary and higher education.

On its student site, CEA also offers many useful resources for preparing science presentations, working on a TIPE, or reviewing specific science concepts in the fields of energy, radioactivity, climate, technology, health, and life sciences in physics and chemistry. Job descriptions and certifications from engineers, researchers, and technicians also allow you to learn about the many jobs in scientific research.

About CEA

The mission of CEA is to inform the public about decision-making and to provide scientific and technological means to the driving forces (French and European companies, local authorities), to better control the major changes that our societies are undergoing in the field of digital energy. Health, Defense and Global Security.
For this, the CEA has:

• Broad and recognized skills, at the crossroads of the historical, civil, nuclear and defense sectors,
• A basis for long-term basic research in biology, chemistry, physical sciences, and the universe,
• And the experience of the many and diverse technological developments, to be transferred to the industrial partners.