Why did you choose to do a PhD with a cotutelle program?
I considered my project thanks to an internship I did during my second year of Master’s degree at the “Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d’Aquitaine” laboratory in Bordeaux. I was motivated and interested in the scientific content of my internship so I decided to pursue the project I had started in this laboratory. As my thesis focusses on the hippocampus' role in sensory preconditioning, I thought of a cotutelle partnership between the University of Bordeaux and a laboratory in Australia, where the researchers are experts in higher-order conditioning, which the sensory preconditioning is part of. My laboratory in Bordeaux and I had already been in contact with my Australian thesis supervisor, Nathan Holmes, and we set up the project together. I also wanted to experience research abroad.
How has your experience been so far?
After two years, my research work at the University of New South Wales in Sydney came to an end. As the protocol I used in my research had already been developed and tested in Australia, I could start my research as soon as I arrived in my Australian laboratory. This saved me a lot of time and the first year of my PhD was very productive. On my arrival, Nathan was very welcoming. The work environment was friendly and I met other PhD students and researchers…
I’m now going to spend my third year of PhD in my French laboratory. My thesis supervisors and I made sure the transition between the two laboratories made sense. I’m now going to focus on a neurobiological approach and less on a behavior approach, as I did in Australia.
What are the assets of this experience?
Although cotutelle can be complicated to set up, it's been a really positive experience for me. From a professional point of view, I benefit from the complementarity between the expertise of my Australian laboratory and that of my French laboratory, with two different approaches. I can apply in Bordeaux the skills I acquired in Australia and vice versa, and thus define my own approach to research.
At the end of my PhD, I'll get a double degree and I'll use one or the other depending on the situation. My experience between Australia and France can also show that I’m willing to collaborate and open up my horizons, and my ability to adapt to different laboratories, teams and approaches.
From a personal point of view, I experienced much more than a simple research stay. I was able to adapt to the culture, my work environment and visit the country. I forged strong links, learnt, shared and discovered... It's priceless!