On March 12, 2026, the regional final of the My Thesis in 180 Seconds competition, organized by the Acfas-Toronto-Centre-Sud-Ouest, brought together student researchers and a curious audience in Toronto around a shared goal: making science accessible to everyone. The event took place at Glendon Hall and the Glendon Theatre, and offered a dynamic showcase for French-language student research in the region.
The concept of the competition is both simple and demanding: participants must present their research project in just three minutes, using clear and accessible language, in front of a non-specialist audience. In this very limited time, each participant must deliver a presentation that is clear, concise, and convincing. This exercise in scientific communication challenges young researchers’ ability to communicate their work while allowing the public to discover a wide range of research topics.
2026 Winners
This year’s finalists distinguished themselves through the clarity, originality, and rigor of their presentations.
College & Undergraduate Category
1st place – Laura Birate (Collège La Cité)
Thesis title (in French):
Profilage immunoenzymatique des biomarqueurs sériques de l'endométriose
2nd place – Dorval Tchiazon (Université de l’Ontario français)
Thesis title (in French):
Les disparités de l’aide humanitaire américaine dans les pays en situation de crise : cas de la République démocratique du Congo et de l’Ukraine
3rd place – Thiery Donfack (Collège La Cité)
Thesis title (in French):
Thesis title (in French): Les compétences pour réussir à mieux inclure les personnes en situation de handicap sur le marché du travail
Master’s Category
1st place – Rebecca Sarchese (Glendon / York University)
Thesis title (in French):
Médiation normative dans la traduction littéraire des identités S/sourdes : choix de la terminologie employée en français et en espagnol
Emily Mashaal (University of Waterloo)
Thesis title (in French):
Thesis title (in French):
Pouvons-nous augmenter notre apprentissage dans un cours en utilisant des phénomènes de laboratoire ?
Doctoral Category
1st place – Sara Zoghbi (University of Toronto)
Thesis title (in French):
Pluralité, identités et transformations : une relecture de la francophonie au Canada à travers ses diversités culturelles, linguistiques et historiques
2nd place – Jacob Legault Leclair (University of Waterloo)
Thesis title (in French):
Transition séculière et transmission religieuse au Canada, aux États-Unis et en Europe : analyse quantitative des effets de la migration et de la socialisation religieuse au sein de la famille
3rd place – Pierre Lesbats (York University)
Thesis title (in French):
Impact d'insectes sur les surfaces des moyens de transport
Public Prize
Dorval Tchiazon (Université de l’Ontario français)
Thesis title (in French):
Les disparités de l’aide humanitaire américaine dans les pays en situation de crise : cas de la République démocratique du Congo et de l’Ukraine
The regional final brought together students from colleges and universities across Southwestern and Central Ontario. One by one, participants summarized their work before an attentive audience and a jury composed of figures from the academic, media, and cultural sectors.
For the 2026 edition, the jury included Kathleen Adams, Director of Communications at TFO; Eunice Boué, Director of the Salon du livre de Toronto; Marco Fiola, Principal of Glendon College; François Bergeron, Editor-in-Chief of l-express.ca; and Chantal Bois, professor and researcher in education at Collège La Cité.
The evening was hosted by Nicolas Haddad, from the daily radio program Y a pas deux matins pareils, broadcast on Radio-Canada. The event began at 5 p.m. with a welcome reception and networking aperitif, allowing participants and audience members to connect before the competition started at 6 p.m.
More than $4,000 in prizes were awarded for the evening’s best presentations. Sara Zoghbi, who received first prize in the doctoral category, will represent the region at the Canadian national final of the competition, to be held as part of the Acfas Congress.
Free and open to the public, the event once again demonstrated the importance of science communication and the richness of research conducted by the next generation of French-speaking scholars. The regional final of My Thesis in 180 Seconds continues to play a key role as a must-attend event for discovering the diversity and relevance of research conducted in French in the region.