First-year PhD students day at CRESS
On Thursday 19 March, CRESS held its first-year PhD students’ day, bringing together 12 PhD students and 12 discussants (second- and third-year PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and researchers) from the different research teams at the Université Paris Cité. This event, organised by the PhD students’ committee, was a great opportunity for discussion and was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.
The morning was an intense session for the PhD students, who explained their projects to a small group of researchers in five minutes and then answered a variety of questions (on methodology, research domain, fundamental issues, and research hypotheses) from the researchers and other PhD students. This exercise was repeated four times with different discussion groups. It provided an opportunity for very interesting discussions, during which the PhD students were able to refine the presentation of their projects and reflect on issues they had not yet considered.
Following a convivial meal together, the PhD students attended a presentation on writing academic papers given by Séverine Sabia, a researcher in the EpiAgeing team. Finally, the day concluded with a workshop to discuss practical issues relating to writing academic papers. The PhD students had brought along concrete examples of problems they had encountered, and we discussed these specific issues together in small thematic groups. The outside perspective provided by people who are not experts in the field helped to highlight the strengths and areas for improvement in the writing of a scientific article and the presentation of results.
This event gave PhD students the opportunity to introduce themselves to other members of CRESS and to meet PhD students from other teams, with whom they will be able to continue interacting at future events, such as those focusing on research integrity.
By Séverine Sabia
