CBI is a unique iteration of the challenge-based innovation program that originated and is grounded at CERN with the explicit goal to link its research, technologies, methodologies and expertise with real-life societal challenges.

It has been delivered annually in the fall since 2014, when Esade, UPC and IED Barcelona came together for the first time to deliver a multidisciplinary challenge-driven program.

The course brings together multidisciplinary student teams who tackle societal challenge in line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while leveraging the technologies and knowledge at CERN in Geneva.

Challenge-Based Innovation for Artificial Intelligence (CBI4AI) is a more compressed version of the original CBI with a strong AI component. The program incorporates early stage development cutting-edge technologies from research centres in Europe, and an AI dimension to find solutions to the main social problems of our time.

Technology for Social Innovation is a course with the goal to link CERN’s open science, technology, and expertise to address societal challenges. It focuses on social needs by identifying disruptive applications and business models for cutting-edge technologies. During the program, students learn how to develop and assess the potential impact of novel technologies in addressing societal needs, to lead work in an explorative project involving constant reflection and adaptation to new information, and the ability to communicate and argue for decisions made in the context of an innovation project.

i2Planet is a disruptive innovation course that challenges all students’ knowledge, abilities and skills to create a new way of thinking and more disruptive solutions. I2Planet is inspired by the Terraforming method. Students are put in the context of having to go to another planet (Planet B) to solve some specific challenges around survival, society organizations and extreme environmental conditions. Students need to bring their knowledge and expertise around engineering, innovation, design, business and explore a new way of thinking. They learn how to tackle complex challenges and build hypothesis in high levels of uncertainty while they work in interdisciplinary teams of 5-6 people.

i2Planet sprint is fully integrated into all three Fusion Point courses during the visit to IdeaSquare at CERN. Integrating i2Planet across all three courses created a unifying, future-oriented challenge connecting science, technology, design, and business. It offered students an immersive environment to develop critical competencies such as managing uncertainty, thinking systemically, and collaborating effectively across disciplines, while tailoring the learning objectives to each program’s specific focus.