3rd ETO General Meeting

14 Sept 2025, 17:00 → 18 Sept 2025, 08:00 Europe/Rome

Sala Maria Luisa (Hotel Hermitage)

The 3rd General Meeting of the Einstein Telescope Organisation (ETO) will take place from Monday 15 to Wednesday 17 September 2025 at Hotel Hermitage, loc. Biodola, Isola d’Elba (Italy).

The purpose of this meeting is threefold:

• To provide everyone with a comprehensive view of the ETO’s activities and vision for the future;

• To foster connections among colleagues from different departments and units, sharing updates on the important work being done across the Organisation;

• To discuss challenges and opportunities in our work and to collaboratively develop effective solutions and strategies.

 

Participants are expected to arrive on Sunday, 14 September, as sessions will begin on Monday morning 15 September.

The first two days (15–16 September 2025) will be dedicated to ETO-wide sessions and activities.

The third day (17 September) will be open for all participants to organise satellite working meetings with colleagues from their own department and other ETO departments/units.

Moreover, an ETO Management Team meeting will be held on the  afternoon of 17 September and the whole day on 18 September.

We are looking forward to seeing you on Elba!

ETO Directors and the ETO Management Team

Agenda ETO GM Elba.pdf

ETO Code of Conduct.pdf

GroupPhoto.jpeg

Sunday 14 September

19:00 → 20:00 Welcome cocktail

Monday 15 September

09:00 → 09:20 Welcome to Elba: Framing the Days Ahead

This short opening session will set the tone for the three days of the General Meeting. ETO Directors Andreas Freise and Fernando Ferroni will offer welcoming remarks and reflections, followed by an orientation to the programme from Daniel Nikolov. Participants will be introduced to the overall logic of the meeting, the day-by-day structure, and the purpose of each major session.

Conveners: Andreas Freise, Fernando Ferroni (Sapienza Universita e INFN, Roma I (IT))

09:20 → 10:45 Our Progress in Practice: ETO Highlights from the Past Year

This plenary session invites participants to reconnect with the organisational progress made across the Einstein Telescope Organisation in the past 12 months. ETO Director Andreas Freise will lay out the biggest achievements of the past year and take us on a journey through ETO's successes, challenges and lessons learned.

Through a curated series of short presentations from the Project Office, Engineering Department and ETO Directorate, we will hear directly from those working on key pieces of work; a moment to sunshine what we each accomplished and learned.

The purpose of this session is to create a shared awareness of milestones, deepen mutual understanding of departmental efforts, and recognise individual and collective contributions. The tone is inclusive and forward-looking, acknowledging both progress made and the people behind it.

Conveners: Andreas Freise, Fernando Ferroni (Sapienza Universita e INFN, Roma I (IT)), Alessandro Variola (INFN), Patrick Werneke, Addis Koeck Siegfried (Nikhef)

250915_Our Progress in Practice- ETO Highlights from the Past Year.pdf

Elba_Presentation on EFG.pdf

ETO-ED Highlights Elba.pdf

10:45 → 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 → 12:15 Lessons from the Design Task Force: What It Takes to Coordinate Across Boundaries

This session builds on the experience of the Design Task Force, one of ETO’s most boundary-spanning working groups, to surface key lessons on how we work together across departmental and institutional lines.

Presented by Fiodor Sorrentino, the discussion will explore the practical challenges and enablers of coordination in complex environments. Participants are invited to reflect on the implications for ETO’s structure, roles, and collaborative processes, and how we can scale this model to enable future collaboration across the ET landscape. The session will directly feed into Day 2’s strategy and organisational alignment work.

Convener: Fiodor Sorrentino (INFN e Universita Genova (IT))

Lessons_from_Design_Task_Force.pdf

12:15 → 12:30 This is Us: Organisational Moments & Milestones

To mark the shared journey of the Einstein Telescope Organisation, this short segment will introduce a visual “timeline wall” – a participatory installation where all attendees are invited to add memorable moments, quotes, milestones, or reflections. Introduced by Daniel Nikolov and Yuliya Hoika, this feature will remain open throughout the meeting as a backdrop for shared storytelling and reflection. It is both an interactive activity and a physical record of where we’ve been, and where we’re heading.

Conveners: Daniel Nikolov (Nikhef), Yuliya Hoika

Elba_ETO_Timeline_v4.pdf

12:30 → 15:30 Lunch Break (long & informal)

A signature of our “Elba-style” approach, this extended lunch break offers time for decompression, informal dialogue, and cross-team conversations. Participants are encouraged to use the time freely to connect, rest, and take in the surroundings 🏝️

15:30 → 17:00 How Do We Show Up Together? Mission, Vision & Values in Practice

This session invites all participants to actively reflect on ETO’s shared identity — not as a top-down branding exercise, but as a collaborative exploration of what we believe, how we work, and the kind of organisation we want to build together.

Through a series of breakout activities, we will engage with ETO’s evolving Mission, Vision, and Values, as well as key aspects of how we operate: our ecosystem role, stakeholder commitments, distinctive contributions, and coordination style. Working in rotating table groups with printed canvases and prompts, participants will contribute their insights to a living version of the ETO Organisational Identity Canvas — drawing on lived experience, lessons learned, and aspirations for the future.

The session is designed and facilitated by Daniel Nikolov and Yuliya Hoika. Outputs will feed directly into the refinement of the evolving structure (and soul) of the Einstein Telescope Organisation.

Remote participation link:

https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVJMAMdSE=/

Convener: Daniel Nikolov (Nikhef)

250915_Mission-Vision-Values–VF.pdf

17:00 → 17:45 Reflection Round: Pride Points & Growing Pains

To close Day 1, this facilitated group synthesis session invites all participants to share short reflections in an open-floor format. What are we proud of? What tensions or patterns emerged today? What do we want to bring into tomorrow’s conversations? Guided by prompts, the session will help surface shared themes and practical needs to carry forward. The goal is not to draw conclusions, but to listen and build a common narrative around our experience so far. This will directly feed into the How We Work session in Day 2.

Conveners: Andreas Freise, Daniel Nikolov (Nikhef)

20:00 → 22:30 Social Dinner

Tuesday 16 September

09:00 → 09:30 What We Heard Yesterday

This short framing session opens Day 2 with a collective recap of the insights, signals, and reflections gathered on Day 1. Drawing from the timeline wall, Design Taskforce lessons, MVV session outputs, and closing synthesis circle, the session will piece together themes around identity, progress, and practical tensions. The goal is to align the room on shared takeaways and set the tone for the deeper structural and strategic sessions that immediately follow in this day of the programme.

Conveners: Andreas Freise, Fernando Ferroni (Sapienza Universita e INFN, Roma I (IT))

09:30 → 10:30 How We Work: What Brings Us Forward and What Holds Us Back

This working session invites participants to reflect honestly on the strengths and frictions in our current ways of working. Through breakout discussions, we will explore coordination challenges, unclear roles, support gaps, and patterns of communication that either help or hinder progress. Participants will also be invited to name what enables good work: trust, clarity, shared purpose, or specific working practices. Inputs will be used to identify themes for improvement and to lift up behaviours and practices worth strengthening across ETO.

Remote Participation Link:
https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVJMAMdSE=/

Conveners: Daniel Nikolov (Nikhef), Benoît Tuybens (Nikhef)

250916–How_We_Work–Elba-Day-2_v1.pdf

10:30 → 10:45 Coffee Break

10:45 → 12:00 Newsletter on the Spot - The Sequel

This session picks up from the November 2024 GM in Rome, where a (semi-)internal newsletter was first prototyped. Participants will resume this work, and work on getting the content of the first edition ready. A facilitated “newsroom-style” workshop format will guide the group to producing full draft articles and photos. The newsletter can be finalised on Day 3 or shortly after.

Conveners: Martine Oudenhoven (Nikhef), Yuliya Hoika

Newsletteronthespot - the sequel _final2-1.pdf

12:00 → 15:00 Group Photo & Long Lunch

We’ll take a group photo to capture the full Elba GM team, followed by a relaxed long lunch (a hallmark of the Elba rhythm). This extended break allows space for informal dialogue, connection, and optional leisure before returning to structured sessions in the afternoon.

15:00 → 16:10 Scientific & Technical Expertise within ETO

Background & Purpose:

As the Einstein Telescope project moves toward design decisions and implementation, ETO must evolve to support not just coordination, but growing internal technical and scientific expertise. So far, much of the design and scientific input has come from external bodies — the ET Collaboration, technical working groups within CERN and partners, or inter-organisational collaborations such as the Design Taskforce — but it is clear that ETO’s own scientific and engineering voice will become increasingly important.

This session is an opportunity to reflect together on:

• Where scientific and technical expertise already exists within ETO.
• What kinds of contributions we are missing or underusing.
• How we might create the right conditions for more people — including early-career colleagues — to engage meaningfully in design and science discussions, even without formal roles or mandates.

We’ll explore how to make space for these contributions inside ETO and what kinds of support, coordination, or recognition might be needed.

Expected Outcome:

Shared understanding of opportunity areas and missing elements for technical/scientific contribution within ETO. Notes from the session will inform future thinking on internal roles, support needs, and potential in-kind models.

Conveners: Andreas Freise, Fernando Ferroni (Sapienza Universita e INFN, Roma I (IT)), Benoît Tuybens (Nikhef)

250916–Scientific & Technical Expertise within ETO–V1.pdf

16:10 → 16:40 Coffee Break

16:40 → 17:50 Growing ETO’s Leadership Capacity

As ETO enters a more demanding phase of its development, many colleagues will need take on roles that go beyond their original scope, and department leadership will need to foster and train leadership capacity. We will reflect on how leadership is emerging across the organisation: not only through formal roles, but through everyday ownership, coordination, and initiative-taking.
The purpose of the session is to open a space for honest discussion about what enables people to lead in ETO, what makes it difficult, and what kind of support structures we may need to grow leadership capacity across the team. Topics may include co-chairing, team visibility, role clarity, and involving more people in shaping and guiding key activities. This is not meant to define a new structure, but rather surface insights and experiences that can help us support each other better and strengthen ETO’s ability to deliver in the next phase.

Conveners: Andreas Freise, Fernando Ferroni (Sapienza Universita e INFN, Roma I (IT)), Daniel Nikolov (Nikhef)

250916–Growing ETO’s Leadership Capacity–V1.pdf

17:50 → 18:30 Announcements & Closing of GM Days 1–2

This short closing segment formally wraps up the main part of the General Meeting. ETO Directors and organisers will summarise key outcomes, preview the agenda for Day 3 satellite sessions, and provide final practical guidance. The segment will also serve to thank contributors and encourage informal evening conversations to continue the exchange.

Convener: Andreas Freise

Wednesday 17 September

09:00 → 10:30 Civil Infrastructure Session

This working session, led by Maria Marsella and Jonathan Bratanata, will open up the assumptions and timeline logic behind the development of the ET Civil Infrastructure. Participants will examine how decisions on tunnel layout, building access, excavation sequencing, and design coordination impact the broader delivery model. The session will explore system-wide consequences and dependency risks, including links to detector integration. It is intended for participants with a role in or reliance on RI and site-related design.

Conveners: Maria Marsella, Jonathan Bratanata

250917_ETO 3rd General meeting_CE session_v1.pdf

10:30 → 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 → 12:30 Costing and Risk Briefing Notes Discussion

This session provides space to review and give input on the evolving Costing and Risk briefing notes that ETO is preparing in view of upcoming dialogues with the ETC, Host Countries, and Funders. Led by Luca Latronico and Alessandro Variola, the session will use annotated briefing templates and framing questions to clarify the logic, maturity level, and intended use of the notes. It will also surface open points related to interfaces, assumptions, and missing stakeholder inputs.

Conveners: Alessandro Variola (INFN), Luca Latronico

Briefing Notes.pdf

12:30 → 14:00 Lunch Break

14:00 → 15:30 [Parallel] Newsletter follow-up session

This satellite session continues the co-design work from Day 2’s “Newsletter on the Spot” workshop. Participants will finalise layout options, define roles for drafting and editing, and prepare the timeline for launch of a first edition of the ETO internal newsletter. Martine Oudernhoeven and Yuliya Hoika will guide the session. The aim is to move from brainstorm to executable plan.

Convener: Martine Oudenhoven (Nikhef)

14:00 → 15:30 [Parallel] Kick-off for Coordination & Integration Activities

This high-priority working session launches the Coordination & Integration (C&I) strand of work within the Engineering Department, linked to early integration efforts across ETO. Facilitated by Max Majoor and Patrick Werneke, with support from Jonathan Bratanata, the session will map critical interfaces and alignment points between ED, PO, ETC and Host Consortia. Topics include shared coordinate systems, early design tools, integration milestones, and scope responsibility mapping. The session may run longer depending on participation.

Conveners: Patrick Werneke, Max Majoor (Nikhef National institute for subatomic physics (NL)), Gregory Iaquaniello

Coordinate systems for ET.pdf

ETO-ED PLM - CAD Elba.pdf

Kick-off meeting ETO Coordination & Integration.pdf

15:30 → 16:00 Coffee Break

16:00 → 17:30 [Parallel] Nomenclature and Interfaces: What Are We Really Coordinating?

A deep-dive session exploring the coordination challenges posed by unclear interface definitions and inconsistent use of terminology across departments. Facilitated by Luca Latronico and Fiodor Sorrentino, the session will surface examples of confusion, alignment blockers, and shared pain points. Outcomes may include draft ideas for an ETO-wide interface map or naming standard. The session will also feed into future work on engineering coherence and integration handbooks.

Conveners: Fiodor Sorrentino (INFN e Universita Genova (IT)), Luca Latronico (INFN Sezione di Pisa (INFN))

20250917_Nomenclature_RM_input.pdf

250917_ETO_3rdMeeting_EPO_Nomenclature_Latronico.pdf

16:00 → 17:30 [TBD][Parallel] Dedicated Satellite Session on ETO Resources and Budget Proposal

This session is designed as a continuation of the strategic discussions from Day 2, with a focus on clarifying the structure, ownership, and delivery of ETO’s Resource and Budget Proposal. Participants will review the current framing, identify missing inputs, and align on next steps. The goal is to move toward a viable draft or internal skeleton version, in preparation for BGR submission shortly after Elba and the ETO–ETC–HC engagements later in the year.

Conveners: Andreas Freise, Fernando Ferroni (Sapienza Universita e INFN, Roma I (IT))