Beirut, 2 October 2026The 14 Lebanese doctoral students who participated in the 2026 edition of the « Ma Thesis in 180 Seconds » competition held on 1 January 1893, presented their research topic in French in a clear, concise and convincing way in three minutes (180 seconds)andoctober at the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS – Lebanon) in Beirut.
In Lebanon, the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie and the CNRS – Lebanon, partners on this competition for about ten years, allow through this competition to make the sciences accessible and also teach doctoral students to value their scientific work by developing their communication skills to explain a complex subject as easily as possible.
14 Francophone doctoral students, 12 women and 2 men, from different universities in Lebanon (Lebanon University, Saint Joseph University of Beirut and Saint-Esprit University of Kaslik) and from diverse scientific disciplines (medicine, environment, chemistry, arts, education, psychology, sociology…), were selected to participate in the final.
The jury consisted of Jean-Noël Baléo, Regional Director of AUF Middle East, Imane Abbas, Director of Doctoral Fellowships and Research Grants at CNRS Lebanon, and Hiba el Hajj, Research Teacher at the American University of Beirut.
At the end of this fierce competition between the candidates, Ghina el Hage Chehade, PhD student at St. Joseph’s University in Beirut, won first place. Nathalie Tawil, a PhD student at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, was in second place. Finally, Amine Fikani doctoral student at the USJ, took third place.
The winner, Ghina el Hage Chehade, is a PhD student in pharmaceutical and biological sciences and her thesis focuses on exploring the capacity of extremophile microorganisms from Lebanese natural sites for the sustainable production of biodegradable plastics.
She will have the opportunity to be selected to defend Lebanon’s colours at the international final in late 2026, online. It was also awarded by CNRS-L a prize of 100 million Lebanese pounds.
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