Doctoral missions: an opportunity to raise public awareness of science

Doctorate Article published on 17 June 2025

This article was originally published in L'Édition n°26.

At Université Paris-Saclay, PhD candidates have the opportunity to take on additional missions alongside their research, including science outreach, science journalism, and science communication. Here are just a few examples of the options available to them.

"It's great to have multiple activities because we learn things that we wouldn't learn in the lab, " says Maria Mendez, a third-year PhD student at the Centre for Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies (C2N - Univ. Paris-Saclay/ CNRS/Univ. Paris Cité). "Coming here also gives me a mental break from my thesis work." However, Maria's day is far from relaxing. She has to lead an activity for a secondary school class at the Maison d’initiation et de sensibilisation aux sciences (MISS), a centre based on the Orsay campus and designed to introduce and raise awareness of science based on the Orsay campus. Today's theme: "programming and instrumentation".

After an introduction to the basic concepts, a range of subsequent activities explain how to program a game or control an mBot robot and its sensors. "Which instruction do you have to change to make the robot run?" Maria asks young Maël, his eyes riveted to the computer. Maria has renewed her mission with MISS for the last three years. During their thesis, PhD candidates have the opportunity to take on additional missions involving teaching or other activities. At Université Paris-Saclay, several organisations offer "non-teaching" missions focused on the dissemination of scientific information and, in particular, science outreach. Such is the case with the MISS, supported by the Île-de-France Regional Council, Université Paris-Saclay –and the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).

Science introduction workshops for 8-15 year-olds

"Our mission is to welcome school groups for a day where we introduce them to and raise their awareness of science," explains Valérie Fortuna, a researcher at C2N and director of MISS. Every year, some 5,000 pupils, mainly from primary and secondary schools, visit MISS to explore a wide range of themes, from the science of boats and insects, to the history of numbers, mathematical calculations and the mechanisms of climate change, all presented through entertaining workshops led by PhD candidates like Maria.

When they embark on a mission, PhD candidates receive instruction in scientific outreach, teaching them how to engage a young audience, lead an activity, etc. "It helps me to explain things in a simple way. Being able to communicate your results is a crucial aspect of your thesis and it's another reason why I chose this mission," says Anis Ben Mabrouk, a third-year PhD student at the Centre Borelli (Univ. Paris-Saclay/CNRS/ENS Paris-Saclay/Univ. Paris Cité/French Defence Health Service).
 

© Valérie Fortuna/MISS

Since it opened in 2017, the MISS has welcomed nearly a hundred PhD candidates who have both designed and presented its workshops. "We currently have three PhD candidates who are designing a workshop about hydrogen-based electricity production, as well as one on the subject of genetics and plants," confirms Valérie Fortuna. 

Scientific outreach in all its forms with COMPAS

PhD candidates are also welcome at the  Scientific Communication, Mediation and Heritage Service Communication (COMPAS) of the Orsay Faculty of Sciences at Université Paris-Saclay. And there's no shortage of activities available to them. "All year round, we run workshops for events such as the Science Festival, school visits, etc. We also create exhibitions, videos of scientists and popular content for social networks," says COMPAS manager Anaïs Vergnolle. "These are all formats to which PhD candidates have the opportunity to contribute." 

COMPAS is also responsible for promoting the scientific and historical heritage of Université Paris-Saclay. "We really approach this question through the prism of outreach, offering a variety of initiatives, in different formats, in which everyone can participate," explains the manager. On the Orsay campus, for example, a portrait exhibition featuring scientists who have made their mark on the university's history has been set up along the river Yvette.

All recruits follow a COMPAS course that introduces them to science outreach in a variety of formats, with contributions from professionals in the field to help them successfully complete their doctoral mission. With this course, "we help them develop their skills in science outreach. Then we offer them an interesting environment in which to practice," sums up Anaïs Vergnolle. 

Experience science journalism  

For those who enjoy writing, there's another opportunity available at the Brand and Communication Department (DIRMARC) of Université Paris-Saclay. It introduces them to science journalism by allowing them to write articles for the University's Sciences website, dedicated to research and innovation news, as well as for the journal L’Édition. This gives them hands-on experience of a range of subjects, as illustrated by this issue's article on fermentation, written by Éva Desvigne-Hansch, a second-year PhD candidate at the Genome Integrity, RNA and Cancer Laboratory (GIRC - Univ. Paris-Saclay/CNRS/Institut Curie), currently undertaking a doctoral mission at DIRMARC. 

In addition to those already mentioned, new opportunities for doctoral missions are regularly being developed. This is demonstrated by the "Demain autrement" (A different tomorrow) course deployed by Université Paris-Saclay since November 2024 to raise awareness of sustainable development issues among university staff (see the Teaching, learning section). Combining teaching materials and scientific games, this course has been designed as a shared adventure presented by PhD candidates from the university, who have also previously gained science outreach experience.    

How to apply?

Doctoral missions to disseminate scientific information are spread over 32 days per academic year, and are remunerated in the form of vacation days. Regardless of which organisation is proposing the mission, offers and applications are managed through the ADUM online platform. The application campaign for the next academic year begins in June 2025. 

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This article was originally published in L'Édition n°26.
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