Martin Storder and Antonia Boudet, elected CRCM student representatives.
1. Could you briefly introduce yourself?
Antonia: I’m in the 2nd year of my thesis in the team headed by Dr Paulo De Sepulveda. I’m originally from Marseille.
Martin: I’m also in my 2nd year of thesis in the team headed by Dr Yves Collette and Dr Xavier Morelli, and under the supervision of Dr Thomas Miller. I’m originally from Belgium, from a small town called Namur.
2. What made you want to get involved in the life of the center and take responsibility for the student group?
Antonia: Professionally speaking, I wanted to be better informed about events at the center. Personally, I have a bit of trouble approaching people and starting discussions. I thought it would help my self-confidence. I was going to meet people, make professional contacts and improve my communication skills.
Martin: For my part, I also wanted to gain a better understanding of the CRCM’s organization and to be able to build up a network of professional contacts. Taking on responsibilities within the center also enabled me to improve my day-to-day organization so that I could manage everything in parallel.
Antonia: Yes, I agree with Martin. We need to organize our day-to-day work better, and in particular we need to work longer days so that we don’t neglect the scientific aspect of our thesis.
3. What was the background to the creation of the CRCM’s ACIDEm association?
Martin: The original idea was to create events to bring together students and young researchers, not just thesis students. We also welcome master’s students and young ITAs. To be able to create these events, we first need to be able to raise funds to finance the activities. So setting up an association was the easiest way of approaching industrialists.
Antonia: We’d like to thank Rodolphe Moreau and Nassim Salem in particular for all their help and support in setting up the association. We would also like to thank all the current members of the ACIDEm board.
4. Can you introduce the members of the ACIDEm board?
Martin : Of course. I’m president and Antonia is treasurer. But we’re also helped by Lucas Usclade (IE in the team led by Drs Bertucci and Mamessier) as vice-president, Daniele Murari (PhD student in the team led by Dr Aurrand-Lions) as secretary, Téo Fernez (PhD student in the team led by Drs Nunes and Devillier) as sponsor manager, and finally by Julie Lafont and Anaïs Grandon (respectively PhD students in the team led by Drs Pasquier and André and in the team led by Drs Ginestier and Charafe-Jauffret) for communication aspects.
Members of the ACIDEm board. From left to right: Daniele Murari (secretary), Martin Storder (president), Lucas Usclade (vice-president) and Antonia Boudet (treasurer). Missing from the photo: Téo Fernez (sponsorship manager), Julie Lafont and Anaïs Grandon (communications managers).
5. What are the group’s short- and long-term objectives?
Antonia: We’d like to set up monthly science events, as well as social events. Our first action is to set up what we call the “pizza club”, which is a journal club where we discuss a scientific article. Initially, we’d like to organize this every 2 months. We’d also like to invite guest speakers and organize training courses on popularizing science, which has become very popular in recent years.
Martin: Ideally, we’d like to be able to draw up an annual calendar of upcoming scientific events, and provide it at the start of the year so that everyone can get organized.
6. What do you gain from representing the association on a day-to-day basis?
Antonia: As I was saying, being a student representative and involved in the ACIDEm association allows me to meet lots of people and open up to others. It helps me overcome my shyness and improve my communication skills.
Martin: For my part, it helps me build a network and learn to manage my time and organization better. Not an easy task. I have to admit that it’s time-consuming because there are a lot of meetings to which we are invited as student representatives. So it’s not always easy to juggle all my responsibilities.
7. In your opinion, what would be the biggest advantage of being a thesis student at CRCM, and what could be improved?
Martin: Compared with my home university, the resources deployed for scientific advances at CRCM are much higher, and that’s very much appreciated on a day-to-day basis. There’s also a great deal of conviviality and a real culture of mutual aid at the center, which is extremely appreciable. The only negative point I can see at the moment is the association’s lack of visibility, which makes it difficult to be credible and heard. But it will come!
Antonia: I also find that there’s a lot of support and mutual aid at the CRCM. And that’s really nice as a PhD student, where we still have a lot to learn. The social life group also does a fantastic job of improving this day-to-day conviviality. Another big plus is the free access to the various platforms, all of which are very well equipped and staffed by competent, highly available people. The sharing of resources is also an undeniable quality of the center. On the negative side, the center is spread over 3 sites (La Timone, IPC and Luminy). It’s not always easy to connect with everyone.
8. On a more personal note, Antonia, 2 words to describe Martin and vice versa? And a hidden talent?
Antonia: To describe Martin, I’d say he’s a very trustworthy and committed person. As for my hidden talent, does it count as knowing how to walk with a stack of books on your head?
Martin: Dynamic and persevering are the two words that come to mind to describe Antonia. As for my hidden talent, which isn’t all that hidden in my team, I’m a king at formatting power point presentations. This sometimes leads to great debates with Stéphane Betzi in my team, another king in the field.
9. Finally, any message you’d like to pass on?
Antonia: We’re recruiting! The association is open to all young researchers, not just PhD students, so don’t hesitate to come and see us.
Martin: Next year, I’m stepping down as student representative, so ditto, we’re looking for a new candidate!