EUniThesis concourse – pitch your PhD in 3 minutes
Open-up your Research! Become the first laureate of the EUniThesis concourse and win a 5-days trip to the EUniWell city of your choice
General Information
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Application
Applications closed. Application deadline was 29/03/2026 .
For any questions, contact your local coordinator.
If your home institution is listed below, please check the funding requirements and selection criteria prior to applying:
Course description
EUniThesis is an international science-to-public communication concourse open to all PhD students enrolled at one of the EUniWell member institutions. The concept of this concourse is the following: participants must present their research topic in English and in simple terms to a diverse audience of non-specialists. Each student has three minutes to give a clear, concise, and convincing presentation on their research project, which will be evaluated by an international jury.
This first edition of the EUniThesis concourse will be hosted at Nantes Université and organised in 3 steps:
Local selections - candidates will be requested to submit a 3-minutes video presenting their PhD thesis attached to their application.
Online training sessions – introduction to the concourse and in-person training sessions, participants support
In-person event – participants will attend a 2-days training on science-to-public communication, open science and open educational practices before participating in the EUniThesis final.
EUniThesis online training sessions will be kicked off on May 13th, as part of the European Doctoral Day, aiming at highlighting the vital role of doctoral education and the impact of doctoral graduates as key agents of innovation.
The laureate of the EUniThesis final will win a 5-day stay in the research laboratory of his/her choice in one of the EUniWell universities.
Schedule
Online sessions
May 13 (120 minutes) – Concourse preparation (1)
- Introduction to the concourse, recommendations and advices for the content of the presentations, scientific outreach and stage performance.
- Introduction to popularisation, effective writing techniques and fundamentals of storytelling.
- Participants will learn how to define a strong angle, engage non-specialist audiences and highlight the societal relevance of their work.
- A trainer will be available from May 13 onwards to accompany the candidates in the preparation of their performance during the final on June 25.
Week of June 1 (90 minutes) – Research and Scientific Popularisation
- Ice-breaking session
- Presentation of the training objectives (research in science communication) and the independent work expected from doctoral students
- Presentation of the corpus of texts studied
- Use of a collaborative tool for forming groups
- Q&A about the rest of the training
Week of June 8 (120 minutes) - Concourse preparation (2)
- Q&A session with a coach
Onsite event in Nantes (France)
June 23
- Introduction to Open Science
- Open Educational Practices: 23 good reasons
June 24
- Research and Scientific Popularisation
June 25
- EUniThesis concourse (rehearsals in the morning, final contest in the afternoon)
A more precise schedule will be communicated to selected participants.
The final will be broadcasted in live streaming across the EUniWell channels. Video clips will be shot and edited for the candidates.
Requirements
General information
Applicants must be PhD students / candidates enrolled in one of the EUniWell partner Institutions and are requested to submit a 3-minutes video presenting their PhD thesis attached to their application.
Each institution will be in charge of reviewing videos submitted by applicants from their institution and nominate 2 participants for the onsite concourse.
Videos will be reviewed according to the following criteria:
- Overall clarity of the presentation
- Diction
- Sound and image quality
- Time management
Videos requirements:
- 3 minutes maximum
- Background slides are authorised
- Additional media are not authorised (background music or video)
- Accepted formats: .avi, .mp4, .mpeg-4, .wmv, .mov, .flv, .mkv
Videos should be submitted via the following link:
