On 22nd November 2018, the third edition of the National PhD Welcome Day gathered over 110 doctoral candidates from all disciplines who recently started their PhD in Luxembourg to the Campus Belval in Esch-sur-Alzette. This year’s focus was on science communication to the lay public.
After presentations on the research landscape and the organisation of the doctoral training in Luxembourg, Dr Katrina Bramstedt, Secretary General of the Luxembourg Agency for Research Integrity (LARI), introduced the recently founded agency and raised awareness on the importance of honesty and ethics in research. Then, the focus was turned on Science Communication to inform the doctoral candidates and empower them to better engage with society through public outreach.
Whether it is writing an article, preparing for a radio interview or organising a workshop, the information presented will help the young researchers to reach out to the public as well as to share their scientific findings to tailored audiences. Two interactive workshops were proposed. The first group joined Mr Jean-Paul Bertemes, Head of Science in Society at the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), for “How to present your research in a pitch? In an article?” and the second joined Mr Joseph Rodesch (alias Mister Science) for “How to present your research in a hands-on workshop?”
Following an informative afternoon, the participants joined in some fun activities and socialising. In a joyful atmosphere, doctoral candidates met their peers, shared expectations on their PhD, discussed their research topics and developed links that will facilitate their integration into Luxembourg and the development of their careers.
The National PhD Welcome Day 2018 was organised under the lead of the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) in partnership with the University of Luxembourg (UL), the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), LIH, the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law (MPI), EURAXESS Luxembourg, the PhD association LuxDoc and with the support of the FNR.
