Learning by Research

Of the 757 PhDs graduating in 2024, 40% of whom are international, 350 were present at the ceremony in 2025. According to Pierre Lemonde, Director of the UGA Doctoral College, "This turnout shows that this event is as important for them as it is for us. For us, because it's essential to congratulate our graduates after years of investment and results. PhD students make an essential contribution to research at the UGA, and it's largely thanks to them that the UGA is so high in international rankings and that we perform so well in terms of innovation. For the young PhDs, the ceremony is a moment of pride and emotion shared with their families. If they've got this far, it's also thanks to the people around them who have helped them from an early age. Basically, it's a moment of celebration that we all really need."

Yassine Lakhnech, President of the UGA, made a point of recalling the university's "humanist, social and environmental values and its commitment to the development of knowledge. The university is a beacon of light when obscurantism rears its ugly head, and we must continue to speak out for reason and the scientific method, reminding everyone that science is not an opinion. PhD are, in a way, the lights, the megaphones of science."

8 Academic Thesis Prizes, 2 Innovation Thesis Prizes and 1 CSR Thesis Prize for outstanding thesis work

Among the 757 new PhDs, ten winners received their thesis prizes: eight academic thesis prizes, including one interdisciplinary prize, two innovation thesis prizes and the CSR thesis prize. The CSR Thesis Prize rewards thesis work that respects the criteria defined by the establishment in terms of societal and environmental responsibility, both in the conduct of the thesis and in its application. It is awarded to a PhD who has already won an academic or innovation thesis prize, demonstrating the high quality of the thesis. The prize-winner is thus doubly rewarded. This prize also reflects the evolution we are seeing in our laboratories, and the commitment of our PhD students and their work to social issues.

In addition to their cutting-edge expertise in their scientific field, these young researchers develop a wide range of skills during their doctorate, such as project management, research promotion and management. As a result, they are well equipped to provide original solutions to the challenges they will face in their future careers, whether in business, academia or society at large.