PhD Days 2025: A look back at two inspiring days dedicated to PhDs and career development for researchers

On June 26 and 27, nearly 200 PhD students, promoters and members of the ULiège community took part in the^5th edition of PhD Days at the Grand Poste in Liège. Over the years, this event, organized by ULiège-RISE, has become a not-to-be-missed event, offering every PhD student a space for reflection, exchange and skills enhancement for all profiles.

The key theme is Leading Together, Thriving Togetherthis year's event focused on leadership, the doctoral-sponsor relationship and professional development, in a bilingual format (FR/EN) enabling all participants to take an active part in conferences, workshops and debates.

SEE THE SPEECHES FROM THE 2025 EDITION

A rich and committed program

PhD Days 2025 offered an inclusive program, open to all ULiège doctoral students, focusing on the key themes of professional careers and well-being in research:

• 4 plenary sessions
• 9 interactive workshops
• 2 live radio broadcasts
• 32 speakers, including 5 international ones

Prof. Geneviève Belleville and Prof. Philip Jackson of Laval University (Quebec), authors of the book "Extracting a thesis from a student brain without waste", made their mark with talks on good and bad supervision practices, communication, assertiveness, professional relationships, perseverance and thesis completion.

Discussions on supervision, communication, well-being, gender bias and career paths - both academic and non-academic - confirmed the importance of these issues for the development of young researchers.

Consult the PhD Days 2025 program

PhD Days 2025, a concrete action in line with the HRS4R strategy and subsidized by the ERA Talents Project (EU)

Since 2011, the Université de Liège has been involved in the European Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R)initiative, which aims to improve human resources management practices in research and enhance the attractiveness of scientific careers. In addition, PhD Days 2025, funded by the ERA Talents project, will have contributed to the further development of the themes of female leadership in research and the careers of women researchers.

Among the four strategic axes of ULiège's action plan, PhD Days contributes directly to Pillar 4 - Talent & Career Development, which promotes :

• diversity and recognition of non-linear career paths
• support for career development, both inside and outside the university
• high-quality training and mentoring for young researchers

The PhD Days are fully in line with this ambition, offering a space for reflection, exchange and skills enhancement for all doctoral profiles.

A survey highlighting the expectations and strengths of the PhD-sponsor duo

When they registered, participants shared their feelings and their vision of the promoter-doctoralist duo, the cornerstone of doctoral supervision. The results show a very high level of relationship satisfaction, with an average score of 4.13/5 attributed to the quality of the duo's bond.

When asked about essential qualities, respondents confirmed that :

• A doctoral student must above all demonstrate perseverance, curiosity and resilience
• A good promoter is a good communicator, a good listener and a good listener

These are all skills that foster a fulfilling and productive research environment, which is at the heart of this 2025 edition.

Content available for replay

For those who were unable to attend or would like to listen to certain debates again, video recordings of the plenary conferences and podcasts of the radio broadcasts are available on the ULiège and 48FM platforms:

• SEE THE SPEECHES FROM THE 2025 EDITION