Three minutes to convince
Augustin Brassens, a first-year doctoral student in the Engineering Sciences doctoral school at UTC, won the Internet users’ prize at the My PhD in 180 seconds, abbreviated top “MT180”with the final held at the Sorbonne University Alliance premises on March 25.
Stopping the use of animal models such as mice thanks to tissue engineering, microfluidics and organ-on-a-chip studies is what is at stake in the research on this promising technology carried out at the UTC’s Biomechanics and Bioengineering Laboratory (BMBI) by Augustin Brassens, co-supervised by Rachid Jellali, member of the “Interactions fluides structures biologiques” (IFSB) team, and Éric Leclerc, CNRS research director at UTC’s BMBI Laboratory. Explaining in 180 seconds the development of an adipocyte model on a chip to study liver-tissue interactions during the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the challenge engaged by this 28-year-old PhD student from Nîmes, who arrived at Compiegne earlier this year. Winner of the Internet Users’ Prize at the Alliance Sorbonne-Université’s “Ma thèse en 180 secondes” final on March 25, Augustin Brassens stood out brilliantly from the 18 candidates in the running. The aim of his project: «To find medical solutions that are as close as possible to the functioning of the human body,» he explains. The ambitious outcome would be to transpose the human being onto a chip, to push the model to a realistic level.» For the doctoral student, the competition proved to be a formative and enthusiastic experience: «A good exercise in popularizing science, very encouraging for the continuation of my thesis. From an innovation point of view, the TedX conference format could be a new challenge.»
Congratulations from strangers and messages of support have since poured in on his social networks like LinkedIn. I’m surprised by the visibility MT180 has given me,» says Augustin Brassens. I was able to capture the attention of listeners and expand my circle of friendly and professional acquaintances. The teams at UTC are incredible. The people in charge of theses and the UTC management are very attentive and have a real ability to promote what they do. When I arrived here, I couldn’t have dreamt of anything better.»
Adapting one’s approach and lending meaning to your work
MT 180 allows you to approach your subject in a different way, by getting to the heart of the matter, adapting your speech to your audience, taking a step back, getting your head out of the game and lending meaning to your work. Christine Prelle, director of the UTC’s Sciences pour l’Ingénieur doctoral school, comments: «Doctoral students are focused on a scientific vision that generally doesn’t speak for itself. This competition is a way of popularizing the subject and convincing them that it is interesting and important for Society. It can arouse curiosity and raise awareness among people interested in research and entrepreneurship». This highly formative competition is also highly selective. Over the past five years, out of the nine UTC finalists encouraged to take part in this type of competition, just one has been selected for the MT 180 national final. At the doctoral school, to help students talk about their subject, training courses are offered, in particular with a journalist in order to learn how to adapt one’s speech and facilitate the transmission of a message to press professionals. Christine Prelle explains: «We also work with an illustrator, using visual art, collages and mobiles that speak to the public. In 2023, for example, we exhibited the work of doctoral students, which captured the attention of the youngest visitors. Popularization is a successful gamble.
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