Thesis from A to Z
Calendar & Registration
*During your PhD, you can benefit from courses, workshops and services to develop important skills for your doctorate and your personal development.
Starting an ambitious project like a PhD requires a clear mind around your expectations and role as a PhD candidate, as well as good planning and time management.
In this half-day workshop, we cover the following topics through short presentations and group discussions:
- respective roles and expectations between doctoral candidates and supervisors;
- ways of establishing a good supervisory relationship, using the UNIL Code of Practice for the Doctorate;
- common difficulties encountered by doctoral candidates and advice on how to overcome them;
- time and project management advice;
- career paths and the future of UNIL doctorate holders (careers within and beyond academia);
- the resources available at UNIL.
Target audience : New PhD candidates, ideally in their first year
Modality : In person. One session is offered online each year.
Duration : Half-day
Frequency : Three times per semester
Language : In French or in English
Trainer(s): Dr Pauline Fritsch, Graduate Campus
No time to attend the workshop ? Have a look at our guide of the same name:
Three-day retreats with full board in a beautiful place that promotes concentration, allowing you to focus on writing your thesis, or a scientific article, or other writing projects.
Up to 21 hours of productive writing in 3 days!
In collaboration with the HES-SO
Retreats in 2025 :
- 20 to 22 February - FULL ! You can write to graduatecampus@unil.ch to be added to the waiting list.
- 23 to 25 October - registration will open during the summer 2025
Retreats are held at the Crêt-Bérard between Lausanne and Palézieux.
Inspired by the methods and retreats organised for several years in Canada by Thèsez-vous ?, we combine the Pomodoro, SMART-ER goal and Kanban board methods, and boost them with a collective approach to writing.
We take care of everything: accommodation, meals, activities. You focus on your writing goals!
Example of a typical 3-day retreat schedule here (PDF)
Nota bene: this activity is not designed to give writing advice.
Target group & UNIL selection
- Considering the limited number of places (10 places for UNIL per retreat) and the very high demand for these retreats, we are sorry that we can offer you to participate only once in your doctorate. In average we receive 40 registration requests for 10 places. If you have already participated once, please do not request to register again. Thanks for your understanding.
- Priority will be given to doctoral candidates at the end of their doctorate who have precise and realistic writing objectives. Doctoral candidates at the beginning or at the middle of their doctorate can also register.
- Selection takes into account the status of the doctorate (beginning, middle or end), the faculty and institute in order to have a maximum of faculties and institutes represented, the order of registration and the motivation paragraph in the application form. When there is too many people from a same faculty and it is difficult to select between them, the final selection is done in a random draw.
- The selected participants commit to being present for the 3 full days of the retreat.
Contact
Dr Pauline Fritsch
graduatecampus@unil.ch
+41 21 692 21 29
This interactive workshop gives you the opportunity to receive and exchange advice and tools to help you plan your PhD defence and prepare for the jury's questions.
It is available in two formats :
- A full day on-campus version (from 9am to 5pm) where each participant can practise by presenting a part of their PhD for 5 minutes in the language of their choice (French or English).
- A half-day online version (from 9am to 12:30pm) without time to rehearse participants' presentations.
The following topics are covered:
- The differences between the private defence and the public defence (objectives, languages, process);
- How to prepare the presentation and communicate effectively;
- How to best plan the defence (knowing the audience, preparing the logistics);
- How to prepare for and deal with the jury's questions.
Target audience : PhD candidates close to completion, ideally 2 to 6 months before the defence
Modality & duration :
- Full day version in-person
- Half-day version online
Frequency : Four times per semester
Language : In French or in English
Trainer(s) : Dr Pauline Fritsch, Graduate Campus
Throughout your doctorate, you can contact the Graduate Campus to request an appointment to discuss the supervision of your thesis.