A l'UM la science [S01-ep21]: From the MT 180 competition to the ARCAD center

This week on A l'UM la science, PhD students Rhofrane Mrabti and Clément Trotobas tell us about the Ma thèse en 180 secondes (My thesis in 180 seconds) competition, of which they are winners. In the second half of the program, Paule Térès (CIRAD), a researcher in the Agap laboratory, introduces us to Arcad, the first French "bank" for the conservation of cultivated plants.

" Like the long-distance runner, the PhD student has to go the distance, but unlike the marathon runner, no one has drawn a finish line for him or her ". So began Héloïse Lhérété's article entitled La solitude du thésard de fond. Endurance, steadfastness and patience are just some of the qualities needed to be one of the 70,000 PhD students currently enrolled in France, and to last the necessary three years.

Three years to study, research, dig and dissect his subject. Three years, that's 1095 days or 26,280 hours, which a strange competition invites you to sum up in... three minutes. A marathon suddenly transformed into a sprint, that's the challenge we're talking about today as we take a look back at the MT180 competition for My thesis in 180 seconds.

180 seconds, and not a second more, to capture the attention of a perfectly neophyte audience and try to sum up a job that could take a lifetime. 180 seconds, like the 180 beats per minute of the candidates' hearts when they take to the stage. 180 seconds, above all, to share a passion and gain the recognition they all deserve 1,000 times over.

Our guests are doctoral students at the University of Montpellier, and they took part in the regional final of this competition held in Montpellier. This time, they will have more than three minutes to tell us about their experience. Rhofrane Mrabti won the People's Choice Award for this 2022 edition, while Clément Trotobas was awarded second prize by the jury.

In the second half of the program, we introduce you to the Agropolis Resource Centre for Crop Conservation, Adaptation and Diversity, or Arcad for short. France's first crop conservation "bank", Arcad contains almost 50,000 samples. Vine, maize, sorghum, rice, millet, cotton, fonio, peanuts, cocoa, coffee... thousands of seeds accessible thanks to a stacker crane unique in Europe, and above all thanks to Paule Térès, head of the GAMET Biological Resource Centre, for " Seeds adapted to Mediterranean and tropical conditions ", who manages this unique collection.

At UM la science you've got the program, here we go!

Production: Université de Montpellier/Divergence FM
Animation : Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interviews: Aline Périault/Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting and editing: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Production: Anna Demeulandre

Listen to the "A LUM LA SCIENCE" program on Divergence FM 93.9