Young researchers : what's the point of research today ?

Public round table at the Collège de France
November 14 2023
6 pm 30 - 8 pm h 30

Seven young researchers, winners of the 2023 Collège de France science prizes, will take part in the round table discussion " Young researchers : what is the point of research today ?". The debate will be preceded by an awards ceremony, in the presence of Retailleau, Minister of Higher Education and Research.

Creative, curious and innovative, researchers broaden our knowledge and our ability to influence the world. In 2023, France will have 300 000 researchers, 74 000 doctoral students, 265 doctoral schools and 35 research organizations. Our scientists publish in the world's most recognized scientific journals and, according to Campus France, " the fourth highest impact index in the world ".

However, for several years now, in the media and on social networks, there has been a real mistrust of scientific activity, its results and its applications. Some fear that France is falling behind in global research. Others lament a general decline in scientific culture in France. These phenomena call into question the place occupied by research in society, and the ability of researchers to share not only the knowledge they produce, but also their practices and the meaning of their vocation.

On November 14 2023, from 18 h 30 to 20 h 30, the Collège de France invites seven young researchers from the experimental sciences, mathematics and the humanities, all winners of the Collège de France awards, to a round table discussion moderated by RFI journalist Caroline Lachowsky, to discuss and compare their experiences and analyses, on the usefulness, purpose and meaning they give to their research and to research today.