Back to the Montpellier Regional Final of 3 Minute Thesis: A day of scientific outreach at the Lycée Hemingway
The regional final of the 3 Minute Thesis Universities competition took place Thursday 24th, March, at Lycée Hemingway, bringing together PhD students, high school students, and Universities community members for a afternoon dedicated to the transmission of scientific knowledge.
Published on 25th March, 2026
Lycée Hemingway in Nîmes hosted the regional final of the 3 Minute Thesis competition, an international contest that highlights PhD students’ ability to present their research in just three minutes, in English, using accessible language.
The ceremony welcomed 140 high school students specialising in English or enrolled in European sections, who attended the candidates’ presentations.
The jury, composed of representatives from the academic and institutional worlds, played a key role in evaluating the presentations. It was made up of:
- Kenan Brassel, English Teacher at Lycée Ernest Hemingway
- Sylvain Olivier, Vice-President for Education at the University of Nîmes
- Virginie Pinto, English Teacher at Lycée Ernest Hemingway
- Christophe Remond, Director of the Department of International Relations and Francophonie, Montpellier Paul-Valéry University
Throughout this day of scientific discoveries and exchanges, the finalist PhD students from the universities of Occitanie-East successfully took on the challenge of scientific outreach.
This achievement is the result of five weeks of support provided by a team of coaches, Lynn Blin and Sébastien Colom, who trained the candidates in public speaking, English rhetoric, and scientific outreach. We commend their dedication and commitment to preparing the PhD students.
Mikael Magnano, a PhD candidate in Biological Sciences at the University of Montpellier, particularly distinguished himself by winning both the Jury Prize and the Audience Prize. His eloquence, clarity, and ability to captivate the audience earned unanimous praise from both the high school students and the jury.
Thanks to his Jury Prize victory, Mikael will represent the group at the Coimbra Group European competition.
