🇬🇧 OMER 2026 PhD Student Days: A Deep Dive into Career Integration for PhD-holders

It wasn’t an April Fool’s joke, and yet, on Wednesday, April 1, we (metaphorically) put on our flippers and snorkels to explore the depths of the oceans and, above all, the career paths open to PhD students after they complete their thesis.This week, CNRS alumni partnered with the Research Group on Oceans and Seas (GDR OMER) for the OMER 2026 PhD Student Days: an event bringing together the GDR’s PhD cohorts with professionals working in the oceans and seas sector, with the aim of broadening their horizons beyond their thesis. This event provided a wonderful opportunity for our network to introduce itself to an audience eager for advice and guidance on their professional integration, whether in academia, industry, or politics.

One of the highlights of the day was the challenging exercise undertaken by eight doctoral students: presenting their thesis in just five minutes. With passion and commitment, they captivated the audience with topics as varied as wind studies, seal feeding behaviors, and citizen science—all rooted in the realities of climate and environmental change.

On the topic of career integration, several speakers (including alumni from our network!), Cécile Massé, Guillaume Gélinaud, Orens Pasqueron de Fommervault and Alexandra Maufroy, shared their postdoctoral journeys, offering a diverse overview of the opportunities available to young researchers. Now working in government agencies, NGOs, companies, intergovernmental organizations, or research support units, they recounted their journeys—marked by encounters and opportunities, but also by disenchantment and life choices. During a roundtable discussion with  Chantal Vernis, director of the Bernard Grégory Association for the Integration of PhD-holders, and moderated by Guillaume Stahl, General Delegate of CNRS alumni, the panel addressed questions from PhD students, fostering a rich and interactive exchange.

The day reinforced, if any proof were needed, that a Ph.D. is much more than just a degree; it is a valuable professional experience that can be leveraged throughout one’s career. Thank you to the GDR OMER for inviting us to this event, which reaffirms one of the pillars of our network: the importance of intergenerational connections and the sharing of experiences.

© Illustrations by Anouk Desmet.