1. Les jalons d’une thèse
Présentation / Discussion
Nathalie Girard, Cyril Faucher, Mickaël Coustaty

2. Agenda PhD timeline Formations Laboratory criterion PhD Defense
Contract doctoral
Conference & journal
European Label
Become Assistant Professor / Full Researcher
Research French Evaluation

3. The PhD Defense between the 36th and 39th* month is recommended
General timeline
End of the 1st year
Report
End of the 2nd year
Discussion
End of the 3rd year:
End of the funding
The PhD Defense between the 36th and 39th* month is recommended
*39 correspond to the average duration of the French PhD

4. Formations (36 credits required)
Transverse Formations: University of La Rochelle => 12 credits
During the 3 years of PhD
See:
2 to be select in proposed formations
Domain Formations: Doctoral School S2i => 12 credits
During the 1st & 2nd years
See S2i website:
2 seminars of 3 days (4 credits/seminar => 8 credits)
2 courses (2 credits/course => 4 credits) ! not available yet !
Specific Formations: L3i laboratory => 12 credits
See L3I intranet website
1 international journal
2 international conferences (rank A for laboratory)

5. Formations (mandatory)
At the end of the 1st year (L3i)
A seminary to expose your first results
At the end of the 2nd year (Doctorial Symposium, ULR)
1 poster
2 pages
a 5 minutes talk

6. Laboratory criterion to defend
1 international journal
2 international conferences
> rank A for laboratory (intranet L3I website)
Ask your supervisor(s) for a list of conferences and journals in your specific research fields

7. PhD Defense Templates available at the Doctoral School
Using OpenOffice
Using Word
Using LateX
One template available on Lyx (only for the L3i)
Electronic deposition (
Selection of manuscript reviewers
Deadline for manuscript submission
8 weeks before the PhD defense
Jury
5 to 8 persons
Minimum 2 reporters (must be professors)
See ULR website:

8. Doctoral Contract & DCACE
Every PhD Student have a doctoral contract
Need a teaching experience
=> a rider to your doctoral contract
being candidate in 1st or 2nd year
September
1 rider => 64 HETD of teaching

9. Funding Sources University of La Rochelle (materials, PhD, Postdoc)
CDA, Charente-Maritime, Poitou-Charentes
ANR (French National Research Agency)
CIFRE (with a firm)
European Projects
According to the type of funding the deliverable expected is not the same

10. European Label Classical thesis with a European label 4 preconditions
Reports from 2 professors issuing from 2 Europeans states different the PhD student’s one
A jury member must belong to university from another European country
A part of the PhD defense must be done in another European’s language
The PhD student must have spent 3 months in another country from the European union

11. European Label - 2 University of La Rochelle encourage you !
Current call
Documents available:
DREDE
Head of Laboratory
Financial aid (1000 € per month) for 3 consecutive months
Must be done during the three first years

12. How / Why submit to conferences
Validation of your work
Share your work with the community
Submission process
Call For Paper (long/short/poster/demo)
Submission
Acceptance notification - reviews (3 peer reviewer)
Camera ready for publication in proceedings
Participation to the conference

13. Conference and journal: differences
Audience
Quality / severity
Review process
Impact factor
Special issue
Don’t miss your national community (Journées, GDR)
may be your future chief, postdoctoral opportunities

14. Becoming an Associate Professor
1st phase (documents submission: mid-december)
“Qualification” by Conseil National des Universités (CNU)
Section 27: Computer Science
Section 61: Computer engineering, signal processing and automatic
General criterion: present a good balance of experience between:
research skills
1 international journal / Different international and national conferences
teaching functions
a minimum service (CNU61: 100 HETD – CNU27: 64 HETD*)
collective commitments
participation to the laboratory life
participation to the organization of  a conference

15. Becoming an Associate Professor
2nd phase
seminaries in potential opportunities
interviews (ranking)
« enseignant stagiaire »

16. Becoming a Full Researcher
CNRS, INRIA
Excellent research skills in your domain
Expose a research project
In France:
CNRS researcher
Need to pass a competitive examination
Then become a “Chargé de Recherche” in a CNRS lab

17. Research Evaluation in France
AERES
each 5 years
ranking: A+, A, B, C
L3i: A since 2011
Direct impact on
laboratory visibility
the recurrent funding from the University