• What's the purpose of defending your thesis publicly?
• What's involved in defending your thesis in front of a jury?
• How do you prepare your presentation?
• How to communicate effectively in these circumstances?
• How to prepare for the jury's questions?

Description

A major step in a research career, the thesis defense requires careful, methodical preparation. This workshop will provide you with advice, tools, and support to help you prepare for this event. We will look at both the format and content of the presentation. You will get pointers on how to anticipate and prepare for the jury's questions. You will have the opportunity to discuss your own experience and the obstacles that arise at the end of your thesis to encourage mutual enrichment. Moreover, this workshop offers you the opportunity to practice presenting your thesis (in just a few minutes), and to receive feedback on how to improve your presentation skills. The workshop is open and useful both to doctoral students finishing soon (to prepare themselves) and to those finishing in the longer term, as it enables you to reflect on what is expected of a doctoral student and to put the different stages of the thesis into perspective. In addition, presentation skills introduced during this workshop can be used in a wide range of situations faced by doctoral students (symposia, conferences, teaching, communication competitions, etc.).

Objectives

• Exercise and develop your communication skills
• Identify the issues involved in defending a thesis
• Determine the content of your presentation
• Prepare for the jury's questions