CERN’s Chief Information Officer (CIO), Enrica Porcari, has chosen to donate all proceeds raised from sales of her autobiography, Il futuro che non c’era, to support teachers from her native Italy to attend the CERN National Teacher Programme

Il futuro che non c’era opens with Enrica Porcari receiving the call to join CERN and then takes readers on a journey through her life and career, intertwined with her academic background in social sciences and professional ventures in leadership roles across different domains and organisations.

It is a path that has led her to become the laboratory’s first-ever Chief Information Officer in a role spanning several areas essential to supporting fundamental research – from artificial intelligence to cybersecurity and data privacy to ICT governance.

Porcari is keen to emphasise that while her story may be unique, her motivation behind providing an honest account of her unusual professional journey was to offer a more truthful and human perspective on success – one that others can recognise themselves in, learn from and draw courage from, as they navigate their own paths.

She has kindly chosen to donate all the proceeds raised from sales of the book to support teachers from her native Italy to attend the CERN National Teacher Programme, which is a deeply personal choice.

“I come from a family of many teachers, and I know the energy they dedicate to the job. Teachers are fuelling the next generation and I wanted to show my support for what they do.”

It’s also a choice that echoes the book’s central theme: the future that wasn’t there (Il futuro che non c’era). Throughout her career, Porcari has taken on new challenges and broken fresh ground, fostering a commitment to imagining what doesn’t yet exist and to building it with others. The future, in this vision, is not predetermined; it is something we create openly, cooperatively and as a shared endeavour. With their important role in inspiring the next generation, teachers are essential to this.

Through the programme, teachers come to CERN to participate in a week-long training programme which includes lectures from CERN scientists, hands-on activities and dedicated sessions on how to bring physics and CERN’s expertise into the school classroom.

Il futuro che non c’era is available in the CERN library and to purchase online.