FAQ President of the public defense – also useful for doctoral candidates

  1. Introduce yourself as the thesis director
  2. Introduce the co-director they are present
  3. Welcome the audience
  4. Explain the main stages of EPFL doctoral studies:- Research (about 4 years)
    – Writing of the thesis
    – Oral exam
    – Public defence (today)
  5. Presentation of the candidate (can be based on the candidate’s CV)
  6. If appropriate, you can read/summarize the official record of the oral examination (be aware that only the Doctoral Students’ Office is authorized to issue copy of the PhD exam’s official record, upon request and with the consent of the candidate):- Date
    – List of the jury members
    – Read selected sentences from the assessment
    – If the candidate’s thesis has been nominated for a prize, mention it and offer congratulations
  7. Give the floor to the candidate for the presentation (the candidate’s presentation lasts approximately 45 minutes)
  8. Questions from the audience
  9. You may want to praise the candidate for their hard work
  10. Read the diploma and hand it out to the candidate; this step makes the awarding of the EPFL doctoral title official
  11. This concludes the official part of the public defence

Doctoral Student’s Office /JvH/vma /last update 09.04.2019