UIC Barcelona hosted the final of the internal competition “Present Your Thesis in 4 Minutes”, which took place on 15 May on its Barcelona Campus. Now in its eighth edition, this year’s contest featured 13 candidates from the four areas of knowledge of the University's Doctoral School. The doctoral students were challenged to present the topic of their thesis and key research findings in no more than four minutes and using language understandable to a non-specialist audience.

The panel, made up of Marta Arisa, head of innovation and transfer; Pere Castellví, lecturer and researcher at the department of Medicine; and Maria Fitó, lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Communication Sciences, evaluated the presentations based on clarity, conciseness and ability to connect with the audience.

This year’s first prize went to David Sánchez, from the Doctoral Programme in Health Sciences, for his presentation titled “Hungry Brain: Who Controls Your Appetite?” As Sánchez explained, “My thesis is based on the idea that the brain controls everything in the body – including what we eat and how many calories we burn. But at the same time, the fats we consume also affect how the brain functions. This is why our research group is exploring the relationship between the brain and obesity, and how these two factors regulate each other.” He added, “As with all research, there’s an overwhelming amount of information. Selecting the key points to share, and making them understandable to a non-specialist audience, has been a real challenge.”

As the winner of this edition, David Sánchez will go on to represent UIC Barcelona in the final of the competition organised by the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI), to be held in Girona on 3 July. 

The second prize was awarded to Pau Xipell for his presentation “What Am I Working For?” and the audience prize went to Raquel Ibáñez for “Cinema as a Therapeutic Resource for End-of-Life Patients.”

The “Present Your Thesis in 4 Minutes” competition, held as part of PhDay and organised by the University’s Doctoral School, reflects UIC Barcelona’s commitment to the holistic development of its PhD students, combining research excellence with strong scientific communication skills.