At theUM , the science department welcomes MT180 applicants 

This is the show that brings you weekly updates on the latest news from the University of Montpellier’s research labs and its partners, in collaboration with the local radio station Divergence FM. This week, Jeanne Naby and Charles Sanctorum will join us to talk about their participation in the “My Thesis in 180 Seconds” competition, the finals of which took place in Nîmes on April 2, 2026. The show is hosted by Lucie Lecherbonnier and Aline Périault, airs every Wednesday at 6 p.m. on Divergence, and available as a podcast on theUM ’s platforms every Thursday.

Every year, more than 6,000 scientific publications come out of the laboratories at the University of Montpellier and its partner institutions. Each week, the “UM ” and the local radio station Divergence FM invite you to discover one of these publications through explanations provided by its author(s). From economics to ecology, biology to robotics, law to chemistry—and everything in between, including medicine, education, and mechanics—researchers take turns on the air for a 20-minute interview aimed at the general public.

Have otters returned to the banks of the Lez? Will farms in Languedoc be able to cope with climate change? Are political parties in decline? Are animals aware of beauty? Is AI’s insatiable appetite for energy a blessing in disguise? Can earthquakes be predicted? These are just a few of the questions posed in the hundred or so episodes recorded over the past five years.  

In the second half of the program, a 5-minute segment takes you behind the scenes at the many research facilities of the University of Montpellier and its partners. From the atomic force microscope to the marine research station in Sète and the battery testing facility at the Balard Chemistry Cluster, you’ll be surprised by the diversity of cutting-edge equipment available in the region.

Finally, the guest featured in the last three minutes extends the scientific experiment by announcing an event open to the general public in Montpellier or the surrounding area.

A program produced and hosted by Lucie Lecherbonnier and Aline Périault, communications officers at the University of Montpellier.