Scientific English

Registration: Please register here.

Contact person: In case of questions please contact Dr. Marianne Malartre (marianne.malartre@universite-paris-saclay.fr).

Registration deadline: 7 December 2020

Course Description

This year, the UPSaclay Faculty of Sciences opened its training programme in scientific English to the EUGLOH alliance. Invited speakers and group work with students from the universities of the alliance proved a great experience, to be renewed!

This year, the UPSaclay Faculty of Sciences opened its training programme in scientific English to the EUGLOH alliance. Undergraduate students in 2nd year Biology at Université Paris-Saclay must validate a teaching unit dedicated to science in English. Within the framework of this course, students learn how to write, present but also study in their area of specialisation (biological sciences) in English.

In the first instance, so as to offer UPSaclay students an international experience, Dr. Marianne Malartre, teacher-researcher at the Orsay Faculty of Sciences in Developmental Biology and Cell Signalling, invited 4 professors from partner universities of the EUGLOH alliance to hold lectures online. Over the course of 4 lectures, entirely offered in English, the students were able to familiarize themselves with the language of presentation in English through scientific seminars given by researchers from the University of Szeged and the University Ludwig Maximilians in Munich. They also acquired technical skills for the preparation of academic presentations and in dealing with scientific results, guided by two professors from the University of Porto. Entirely organised online, the lectures allowed for strong interactions between students and invited professors – en anglais, s’il vous plait! The UPSaclay pedagogical team also benefitted from this experience to develop its online teaching practices.

In the second instance, the tutorials were opened to students of the EUGLOH alliance, upon selection, enabling undergraduates from other areas of specialisation and other countries to interact. 21 students from the partner universities thus joined 100 UPSaclay students, mixed together and split into 7 half-groups. Several activities were carried out, some individually (e.g. writing a summary, participating to debates), and others as groups (present an article, prepare an oral presentation, a poster), with a focus on different topics (science and society).

Highly motivated, the students worked in close collaboration, “meeting” outside teaching hours. The ultimate aim of the programme, studying, working and communicating in English, thus took on its full meaning with an audience of students from different countries and areas of specialisation. Raquel Monteiro, a student from Porto University, particularly enjoyed “working within a group. Once we had overcome our initial shyness, it was really enriching to speak with students from different academic backgrounds. We created a group outside the course to get to know one another better. We could say that science brought us together, in spite of the distance. The course was both enriching, pedagogical and fun!”

Given the high demand for the course (145 registrations for 24 places), the teaching unit should be open to new students of the EUGLOH alliance over the next academic year.