The Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL) organised its first Trainees’ Day at Sorbonne University. The event was attended by 56 people, including thirty-five of the forty trainees funded by IPSL’s Climate Graduate School (CGS), from various IPSL laboratories. As part of an initiative to promote research experience among the students who attend each year, this day aims to become an annual event at IPSL.

The aim of the morning was to give trainees the opportunity to present their research work and/or their duties as a trainee, to meet members of the Institute’s scientific community (doctoral students, researchers, teachers) and to exchange ideas with their peers. Two presentation formats were offered: an oral presentation inspired by the ‘My thesis in 180 seconds’ format or the creation of a scientific poster.

The day began with the trainees being welcomed over breakfast in front of the amphitheatre, providing a friendly setting for initial discussions. Then, the participants joined the auditorium for an opening remark by Manon Rousselle, Project Manager at IPSL, followed by a presentation of the Climate Graduate School by Solène Turquety, Professor and Researcher at Sorbonne University (LATMOS), and Executive Director of the CGS.

Eleven Master 1 and Master 2 trainees then presented their internships in 10 three-minute presentations, which were intended to be a demanding exercise in popularising science, similar to the exercises that young researchers might undertake in their theses, for example. The topics covered ranged from oceanography and climatology to Machine Learning and scientific communication. These short presentations highlighted the diversity of topics explored in the IPSL laboratories.

The morning continued with a poster session. Fourteen interns had prepared a poster summarising their internship topic, which was displayed in front of the amphitheatre. This informal exchange allowed participants to discuss their work more freely, ask questions and find out about other projects being carried out at the institute.

As a first, the 2025 event provided a valuable experience for students in training, while building or strengthening links with the various research players at IPSL.

The event was supported by the IPSL communications department. Marthe Chevalier and Chloé Boin Mignon filmed the presentations and conducted interviews with the trainees. Everything can be found on the IPSL’s LinkedIn and Instagram accounts.

The event was organised and run by Manon Rousselle, project manager at IPSL, and Maxence Gallais, trainee project assistant at IPSL.