Doctoral School

Interuniversity final of the "Present your thesis in 4 minutes" contest. All catalan universities will compete to explain the doctoral thesis best communicated in 4 minutes

Jul 02, 2025

The challenge of explaining a doctoral thesis in 4 minutes in an engaging and comprehensible way for the general public is as ambitious as it is perfectly achievable. This is the goal that the contest “Present your thesis in 4 minutes” has pursued—and fulfilled—over its eight-year history, organised by the Department of Research and Universities, through the Inter-University Council of Catalonia (CIC), the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI), and the 12 Catalan universities.

On Thursday 3 July, at 17:30, the Auditorium of the “la Caixa” Foundation Space in Girona will host the final of the eighth edition of the contest. The event can be followed live via streaming on the FCRI’s YouTube channel:

The 12 finalists (7 women and 5 men) were selected from among the 154 participants (56% women, 44% men) who took part in the internal qualifying rounds at the Catalan universities.

In the final, three prizes will be awarded: first prize (€3,000) and second prize (€2,000), both decided by the jury, and a People’s Choice award (€1,000). In addition, there is the special “Assumpció Català i Poch” mention for the best thesis presented in Catalan (€1,000).

The final presentations cover research topics as diverse as applied neuroscience, colorectal cancer, the relationship between Alzheimer’s and the gut, the use of artificial intelligence in brain imaging, and Tsubouchi Shoyo’s Meiji-era Japan.

Finalists and presentation titles

In order of presentation (decided by draw):

  1. Patricia Jurado González, “Co-design and evaluation of a culinary intervention on social media to improve the diet of university students in Catalonia”. Open University of Catalonia (UOC).
  2. Ana Arias Donaire, “Trying to cross the ‘valley of death’ with tyrosine kinase inhibitors”. Ramon Llull University (URL).
  3. Marta Cervera Sospedra, “A brain on a chip: tailor-made neuroscience”. University of Barcelona (UB).
  4. Laura Pons Martínez, “Would you undergo chemo if you knew it wouldn’t work?”. Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB).
  5. Nil Novau Ferré, “Alzheimer’s: the gut speaks and the brain listens”. Rovira i Virgili University (URV).
  6. Marta Guimerà Gallent, “From physical risks to emotions: a new approach to university workplace wellbeing”. Vic – Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC).
  7. Bruno Brotons Morales, “Myosin 5b: the Achilles’ heel of colorectal tumours”. University of Lleida (UdL).
  8. David Sánchez Pizarro, “Hungry brain: who controls your cravings?”. International University of Catalonia (UIC).
  9. Uma-Maria Lal-Trehan Estrada, “Artificial Intelligence and brain imaging: simplifying complexity”. University of Girona (UdG).
  10. Israel Campo Bes, “When did animals become molecularly independent from their mothers?”. Pompeu Fabra University (UPF).
  11. José Enrique Domínguez Vidal, “Human intention and its use in human–robot interaction”. Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC).
  12. Aurora Gómez-Rovira, “Tsubouchi Shoyo’s Meiji Japan”. Abat Oliba CEU University (UAO).