on the June 13, 2025
Curiosity, Mobility, and Ambition: A Look Back at the 3rd Edition.
The 2025 edition of the Doctoriales took place on June 11. This unifying event, designed for PhD students from the EUR DS4H, combined a friendly atmosphere, informal scientific discussions, and insights into the daily life of early-stage researchers as well as career prospects.
The day began with inspiring talks by Serge KAS HANNA and Lyes KHACEF, who shared their impressive international career paths. Their keynote speeches set the tone for the event: curiosity, mobility, and ambition.
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” – A. Einstein
The morning continued with two challenges aimed at encouraging PhD students to step back from their dissertation work and connect with others. The first challenge, the Scientific Pitches, featured 8 volunteers who presented simplified versions of their research to a non-specialist audience — including Master’s students exploring the research profession as a potential next step.
This was followed by the Spark Up! Workshop, where randomly formed trios of PhD students combined their research topics to generate original ideas for research projects or start-ups. This dynamic session fostered both scientific and personal exchange, with some surprising and creative outcomes.
The Superpowers of PhD Students
In the afternoon, PhD students were invited to explore new horizons — both in space and in time.
The first round table focused on international mobility, highlighting testimonies from young researchers who traveled the world thanks to funding from the DocWalker program of the Academy of Networks, Information, and Digital Society.
The second round table addressed career opportunities after the PhD, with insights from Jean-Claude BURTIN (RUE / Recherche et Avenir program), Laurent BUSÉ (Inria Talents PhD), Antoine PASQUIER (UniCA Entreprendre), and Gwenaëlle PRIGENT and Saijal VATS (AJC06). From the “competition” with engineers and imposter syndrome to the lack of recognition of the PhD in the business world — but above all, the boundless opportunities ahead — all speakers, deeply involved in supporting doctoral researchers, emphasized the high-value skills that PhD graduates should confidently showcase in their professional journeys.
Zoé Mallamaci (ED SHAL, 1st year)
What really stood out in a positive way during the day was the interdisciplinarity.
You realize there's always a way to connect our fields of expertise — even the most complex ones. There's always a way to move forward together. It's really valuable to step away from our own research for a moment and talk to people from other backgrounds. It was incredibly enriching, and if there are more Doctoriales in the future, I’ll definitely be back!
Maha El Abed (ED STIC, 3rd year)
I was expecting a rather formal day. But as a third-year PhD student, I actually got a lot of answers to questions I’d been asking myself. I had the chance to present my topic to people completely outside my field, which was really valuable. And during the workshop, we realized that we have much more imagination than we think — especially when we step out of our comfort zone.
The 2025 DS4H Doctoriales in Pictures
STIC Doctoral School Best Theses Awards
For several years, the Doctoral School has acknowledged exceptional theses, and this year, we are proud to announce our first official awards ceremony as part of the Doctoriales. The PhD awards celebrate excellence in scientific quality, originality, impact, and the candidates' significant contributions to the wider scientific community. These accolades also highlight the exceptional mentorship provided to the laureates. Congratulations to all the awardees for this well-deserved recognition!
Jean-Paul Comet, Director of STIC Doctoral School
The 6 Laureates:
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Marta Lazzaretti, 1st prize specialty Automatic Control, Signal and Image Processing (ATSI)
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Lucas Picasarri-Arrieta, 2nd prize specialty Informatique
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Odile Burckard, specialty Automatic Control, Signal and Image Processing (ATSI)
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Francesco Positano, specialties Electronics / COP / Digital Health
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David Loiseaux and Florent Robert, ex aequo specialty Informatique
Congratulations!
We warmly thank all the speakers who generously shared their experiences and engaged with the audience in a friendly and informal atmosphere, making the day so enriching.
Thanks also to the ADAMS and ADSTIC associations for their valuable contribution in shaping a program that truly met the expectations of the PhD community.
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