#PhDNews
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On this page, you will find a regularly updated summary of news that may be of interest to doctoral students from all doctoral schools in the Pays de la Loire, all disciplines combined.
Call for participation: Flash survey - Cross perspectives on the doctoral oath of scientific integrity
[PhD students and thesis supervisors from all disciplines]As part of its monitoring mission, the French Office for Scientific Integrity invites you to complete this anonymous survey in less than 5 minutes. Your answers will help analyze your perception of the doctoral oath of scientific integrity, implemented since 2023.
- Survey in English until May 5, 2026
European Doctoral Day
[PhD students from all disciplines]On May 13, 2026, Europe will mark the inaugural European Doctoral Day, an initiative launched in 2026 and set to become an annual event.
This day aims to highlight the pivotal role of PhD holders and of doctoral education in driving scientific excellence, innovation, and societal progress—both within academia and beyond.
Call for applications: Symbiose scientific short film competition
[PhD students from all disciplines]Are you a young scientist eager to discover how a film is made?
For the past 10 years, Pariscience has been organizing Symbiose, a 48-hour short film competition, inspired by the ImagineScience festival. The concept is simple: pairs, made up of a scientist and a director, have 48 hours to write, shoot, and edit a short film together based on the young scientist’s research topic.
Participants are selected individually, and pairs are drawn at random on the day the competition begins.
- More info here
- Application submission until July 5, 2026
Call for applications: i-PhD innovation competition
[PhD students from all disciplines]Young researchers: science is a superpower—activate it with the i-PhD competition, and join a community of entrepreneurial researchers.
i-PhD is a government innovation competition (run by Bpifrance) aimed at young researchers with a deeptech startup creation project based on their research, and allows winners to benefit from a one-year support program to develop their entrepreneurial project under the best conditions.
Call for applications: Design Factory
[PhD candidates from all disciplines enrolled at Nantes Université]Join the Design Factory at Nantes Université in September 2026. This interdisciplinary program offers you, in collaboration with a local partner: the opportunity to learn how to innovate, work in teams with diverse profiles, and develop skills complementary to your training.
A concrete challenge, a unique experience: for 5 months, every Tuesday, you will collaborate with students from different backgrounds (humanities, sciences, law, management, architecture, design, etc.). Together, you will take on a real challenge proposed by a socio-economic partner (company, local authority, association…) and design a prototype solution.
- More info and registration until July, 2026
- Direct contact for any questions: du.designfactory@univ-nantes.fr
New research portal on ecological transition
[PhD candidates from all disciplines enrolled at Nantes Université or Centrale School]Public research in Nantes, a key player in the ecological transition: this portal provides an overview of collaborative dynamics and research in the field of ecological transition across laboratories of Nantes Université, ENSA Nantes, and Centrale Nantes.
It lists: research projects, involved laboratories, technical and scientific equipment and platforms, calls for collaboration and PhD offers, as well as information and news.
Updated on 28 April 2026.