The Apprentis Chercheurs scheme is back for the 11th year running: good news that will help make scientific knowledge accessible to a teenage audience ! Would you like to get involved ? Juliette Aury-Landas, lecturer in biochemistry and molecular biology and Apprentis Chercheurs coordinator for the Université de Caen Normandie, tells us all about it ! 

What is the Apprentis Chercheurs scheme ? 

This scheme enables pairs of students in 3rd year classes and students in 1st year classes to spend time in laboratories, learning about research and the scientific process. Defining the research question, hypotheses, experiments, analyses, reporting… Students carry out a scientific project step by step, under the responsibility of their supervisors. The program runs over 6 to 8 sessions – one Wednesday afternoon a month – from November to June. At the end of the year, the Apprentis Chercheurs conference, held at the university, gives them the opportunity to present their projects orally in front of family and friends. 

Who can supervise these pairs of students ? 

Anyone working in a research laboratory can get involved in mentoring. Researchers, teacher-researchers, engineers, technicians, PhD students and post-docs are all invited to share their passion for research! Subject to agreement with the Doctoral School, supervising apprentice researchers can enable doctoral students to earn training credits. This openness to society can also be promoted by national and international evaluation bodies (ANR, HCERES, European projects, etc.). Of course, all scientific disciplines are welcome! All the university’s research units are eligible for this scheme, if they so wish. The multi-disciplinary nature of the University of Caen Normandie is a great opportunity for our apprentice researchers to discover different tools, methods and equipment. Involvement in this scheme means raising the profile of your work and research unit, and benefiting from the students’ questions and ideas. It’s a win-win situation, both scientifically and in human terms. 

What kind of projects do Apprentice Researchers work on ? 

There are no limits to curiosity – anything is possible! Last year, sixteen students from collèges Dunois, Guillaume de Normandie, Stephen Hawking and lycées Jean Rostand and Dumont d’Urville were welcomed into the ABTE (UR4651), ANTICIPE (UMR-S 1086), COMETE (UMR-S 1075) and ISTCT (UMR 6030) laboratories. They have all worked on subjects as diverse as inner ear disorders, teenage lifestyle habits and ovarian cancer. The scheme is open to all students, without distinction, on the basis of their motivation and willingness to participate. It’s up to us to respond positively to their enthusiasm !