What connects topics as diverse as children’s sleep apnea, plastic in forests, and solar energy in the Alps?
These were the subjects championed by winners of the Belgian finals of 'My Thesis in 180 Seconds,' held on Tuesday evening at the University of Liège’s Gembloux campus.
The inter-university competition highlighted groundbreaking research from three academics.
Marie Joie from UMons explored plastic pollution in forests with her presentation, 'Let’s take a walk in the woods, except there’s plastic there.'
Pierre Cnockaert from UCLouvain discussed using tongue re-education to tackle childhood sleep apnea, and Caroline Bottu presented her take on solar energy in the Alps with, 'Why isn’t sunshine enough?'
The audience prize went to Charles Modera from UNamur for his compelling presentation, 'The loudest noise in the Universe, coming soon to your airwaves!'
Fifteen doctoral students, representing the five French-speaking Belgian universities — Université catholique de Louvain, Université Libre de Bruxelles and the universites of Liège, Namur, and Mons —competed in this year’s event, showcasing a range of research topics.
The four winners will join their French and Swiss counterparts at the 'Sciences on Stage' Summer School hosted by the University of Lausanne in Switzerland from 6 to 10 July.
The programme will focus on innovative ways to communicate and mediate science, blending live performance, storytelling, and artistic creation, according to a statement released by ULiège on Tuesday.
The competition, inspired by a concept from Anglo-Saxon universities, challenges participants to present their thesis research in three minutes, using a single projected image.
Presentations must be scientifically rigorous, understandable to a general audience, persuasive, and effectively simplified for broader appreciation, organisers highlight.
