Ma these en 180 secondes | The 2026 ULiège Finalists

On Wednesday, April 1, 2026, the Exèdre Auditorium (B8, Sart-Tilman) was packed for the ULiège final of the “My Thesis in 180 Seconds” competition. Eleven doctoral students from a wide variety of disciplines brilliantly rose to the challenge of presenting their thesis topics in three minutes in French, using a single slide, in a particularly demanding exercise in science communication.

Throughout the evening, the audience was captivated by the presentations, each more creative, inspiring, and exciting than the last. Behind those three minutes on stage lie several months of preparation, training, and support, particularly from the ULiège-RISE team and the coaches who guide the doctoral students throughout the journey. This preparation was evident in the quality of the presentations, the clarity of the messages, and the participants’ ability to convey their passion for research. Beyond individual performances, a genuine spirit of teamwork and solidarity among the doctoral students was also palpable both on stage and in the audience.

The “ Ma Thèse en 180 secondes ” (MT180) competition aims to introduce scientific research to the general public while allowing young researchers to develop their communication and outreach skills.

At the end of the final, the jury selected the three winners who will represent the University of Liège at the Belgian final on May 12 in Gembloux. The 2026 winners are:

• Justin Holvoet (Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech – UR Agricultural Sciences and Biological Engineering) with his presentation “3D Scanners to Save Our Forests,” dedicated to the use of mobile lidar technologies for forest inventories. He also won the Doctoral Network (ReD) Award.
• Adrien Malemprez (Faculty of Philosophy and Letters – UR History, Art, and Archaeology) with “Our Ears in Hollywood’s Hands: The Musical Fabric of Exoticism.” He was the jury’s and the audience’s favorite.
• Arnaud Radermecker (Faculty of Applied Sciences – UR Aerospace and Mechanics) with “Microscopic Stopover!”, dedicated to the multiscale modeling of alloys produced by additive manufacturing.

These three winners join the 31 doctoral students who have already represented ULiège at the national finals since 2016. With the 2026 competition, the University of Liège will have sent a total of 34 representatives to the national finals, including 21 women and 13 men.

All three will represent ULiège at the national finals of the “My Thesis in 180 Seconds” competition on May 12 in Gembloux.  Info and registration

Congratulations to the eleven doctoral students for the quality of their presentations, their commitment, and their enthusiasm. This evening once again demonstrated how exciting, accessible, and inspiring research can be when presented with passion.