CERN Accelerating science

On Monday the 13^th of October Pro-Rector Johan E. Hustad from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and CERN Director for Research and Computing Sergio Bertolucci, signed an agreement between NTNU and CERN for the establishment of a new Business Incubation Centre of CERN technologies.

The centre, which will be the third of its kind, will provide new technology-transfer opportunities to bridge the gap between basic science and industry, supporting businesses and entrepreneurs in taking innovative technologies related to high-energy physics from technical concept to market reality.

The agreement was signed when a delegation from NTNU visited CERN. This  coincided with a recurring event, where students from the NTNU School of Entrepreneurship (NSE) come to CERN for the annual ‘technology screening’ visit. This is an educational programme run in collaboration with the CERN Knowledge Transfer (KT) group. Over the course of a week, students assess the market potential of selected CERN technologies. The scheme has had some recent successes having yielded two start-up companies in the last two years.

"We are very happy this new centre is opening and hope to see more in the future," says Giovanni Anelli, who leads CERN's Knowledge Transfer Group. "The collaboration with NTNU is very effective and will help in scouting for new and interesting projects for the incubator."