Science at UM [S02-ep20]: The "My Thesis in 180 Seconds" competition

[Podcast] - Published on April 7, 2023 in Doctoral and HDR Training, Science and Society

This week on A l’UM la science, Pauline Bron, Julie Bas, and Julie Cailler, all three winners of the regional final of Ma thèse en 180 secondes (My Thesis in 180 Seconds), tell us about their experience in this science communication competition.

Listen to this article as a podcast on your favorite platform.

And today, I invite you to play Question for a Champion.

I am... Top!

I am a competition that began in 2008 in Queensland, Australia. I...
A kangaroo contest!
No... No, that's not it, let me start again. In 2012, my concept was adopted in Canada before being...
A Putin contest!
No, still not... Before being taken over in 2013 by the University of Lorraine...
The quiche...
Not quiche Lorraine! In 2014, the competition expanded to France and took on an international dimension with the creation of a French-speaking grand final bringing together Canada, Belgium, France, and Morocco. In 2015, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, and Cameroon joined the competition, followed by Benin, Indonesia, and Switzerland in 2016.
A bank competition!
No! This is an internationalscience communicationcompetition open toFrench-speaking doctoral studentsfrom around the world. The task I set for candidates is to present their work in French to a diverse, non-specialist audience in the form of a clear, concise, and compelling presentation, supported by a single slide.
… A slide show contest?
Often approached from a humorous angle and using references topopular cultureand variousmetaphors, I prepare future researchers to speak in public thanks to coaching provided to candidates by doctoral colleges, which organize the regional finals. I take my name from the time limit imposed on each candidate to summarize their thesis in 180 seconds: I am...
Um... My thesis in 180 seconds!
Yes!!!

As you know, today we are welcoming the winning candidates from the University of Montpellier—because there are only girls—from the regional final of this competition, which was held in Nîmes on March 17.

Julie Bas is a doctoral student at IGF, the Institute of Functional Genomics in Montpellier, and won^second prize from the jury.

Julie Cailler is a doctoral student at LIRMM, the Montpellier laboratory for computer science, robotics, and microelectronics. She received^third prize from the jury.

Finally, Pauline Bron is a doctoral student at ICGM, the Charles Gerhardt Institute in Montpellier, and she received the audience award and the right to participate in the national semi-final held in Paris on March 28.

We spend the next 30 minutes with her, waiting for my 3 minutes to pass.

And what about the jury's^first prize? It was awarded to Flo Sordes, a doctoral student at the University of Nîmes, whom we salute and congratulate.

At UM Science, you have the program, so let's get started!

Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Production: Bruno Bertrand / Tom Chevalier

Listen to the program “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9