Scientific culture / Doctoral students

The scientific and technological culture unit of Aix-Marseille University is dedicated to sharing knowledge between science and society. It designs and develops scientific cultural events where researchers from all disciplines are at the heart of mediation mechanisms. Its programming extends throughout the territory and within the AMU Workshops, a public reception area on the St-Charles campus.

It enriches and promotes the university's practices in the field of scientific culture by actively participating in regional, national and European networks: partnerships with other research organisations in the region, Culture science PACA, AMCSTI, the national Experimentarium programme, the French consortium for the European Researchers' Night.

1. Participate in a scientific culture event

The scientific culture unit develops and supports events on and off campus, often in partnership with other cultural actors. Doctoral students, whatever their disciplines, can thus share their research with the public:

• AMU workshops (from September to June): introductory and awareness-raising workshops where students, starting in the fourth grade, meet researchers, experiment and ask questions.
  
• European Researchers' Night (end of September): thematic evening, revisited in unusual formats of meetings with researchers, to immerse the public in an atmosphere stimulating the imagination and approach research from the point of view of those who do it.
  
• Souk des sciences (spring): an ephemeral science market that impromptuly sets up in public spaces and offers scientific activities and experiments for young and old alike
  
• Science Festival: a national meeting of scientific culture to celebrate science through experiments, games and workshops for the general public, organized in many cities in the PACA Region
  
• Experimentarium (all year round): meetings and discussions between audiences and researchers on their research topics, based on objects and images from the researcher's daily life
  
• My thesis in 180 seconds (spring): scientific popularization contest where each doctoral student has 3 minutes to present his or her research topic and convince the jury and the public, an event organized by the Direction de la formation doctorale d'AMU. Training of candidates provided by the AMU scientific culture cell
  

2. Be trained to meet the public

A training course in scientific mediation designed and run by the unit, entitled "Experimentarium", is included in the doctoral college's training offer. It allows doctoral students, whatever their disciplines, to design a workshop-discussion around their research, based on objects and images. The CST unit organizes actions throughout the year to put this training into practice.
The Experimentarium is a national program for equal opportunities developed in partnership with the Universities of Burgundy, Franche-Comté, Science Action Normandie and OCIM. In May, a national festival brings together doctoral students trained at the Experimentarium to meet audiences in one of the partner cities.

3. Carry out a complementary scientific dissemination mission

Each year, the cell integrates doctoral students into its team on a complementary scientific dissemination mission. The doctoral students then participate in the various events organized by the unit. This mission, formalized by an amendment to the doctoral contract, represents an investment and remuneration equivalent to the teaching mission (32 days spread over the year according to the activity).

4. Enhance its involvement in scientific culture

Participation in events organised by the unit is certified as training by its doctoral school (or by the PACA Region in the case of regional scholarships).

The events proposed by the CST unit benefit from dedicated communication tools, in line with AMU's communication strategy. Through your participation, your laboratory and your work benefit from increased visibility.

The unit promotes AMU's scientific culture programming through its involvement in regional (network of research organisations, "Culture science PACA"), national (Association of museums and centres for the development of scientific, technical and industrial cultures, PIA-Experimentarium) and European (H2020-Nuit européenne des chercheurs) networks.