A new cohort, a new class - and ever - increasing scientific diversity !

In 2026, we welcomed 14 doctoral students, 2 postdocs, and 5 master’s students from 12 different countries.

After the flood of applications in 2025 (nearly 1,500), the number of applicants was more manageable, with just under 900 applications. Once again this year, each application was reviewed and sorted by hand.

Seven students from five LabEx laboratories took part in the Summer School, along with two students from the TULIP FBE Master’s program.

Gender balance was maintained, as was a rather remarkable balance across research themes, with a breakdown of one-third “bio,” one-third “eco,” and one-third at the intersection of these themes.

Program

Presentations in the morning, workshops in the afternoon—after several years of experience and refinement, the schedule has returned to its usual format with a few new additions.

A tour of the village of Germ, exploring its history and the ecological and socioeconomic challenges facing the Louron region.

We naturally kept the traditional team-building day with a hike in the Peyragudes mountains, this time exploring another mountainside overlooking the Louron Valley. A big thank you to Michel Chazottes for his presentation and for organizing this day.

The session on public speaking was held again, featuring scenarios specific to research (poster sessions, oral presentations with visual aids, oral presentations without visual aids, etc.).

This training session was led by Jean-François Vrod, who had also been behind its creation last year. We also took advantage of his presence to experience his new solo violin performance and share it with the villagers.

Christophe Thébaud gave a public talk titled “Where Have the Birds Gone?” as part of the cultural program at the community center “Chez Lily,” which sparked the audience’s interest.

Finally, we enjoyed a festive event to wrap up the week, featuring a Brazilian music and dance group called “Le Tout Bal,” also part of the “Chez Lily” program.

Supervisors

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the supervisors and everyone who helped us prepare for this event.

For the second time, all the laboratories were represented on the team:

Philippe Remigi (LIPME), Christophe Thébaud (CRBE), Artemis Perraki (LRSV), Raoul Huys (SETE), AnaÏs Gibert (LGDP), and Eve Toulza (IHPE).

Alexis Chaine (SETE), Eve Toulza (IHPE), and Alexandra Magro (CRBE) for the organization and educational aspects.

Thank you to Jérôme Prunier for his “TULIP career” presentation on his career path and his role at his company, ADENEKO.

And, of course, to our international guests as well :
- Chaitanya Gokhale (University of Würzburg), who was able to join us in 2026 after being unable to attend last year
- Donald Miles (Ohio University), who joined us again after a supervisor had to cancel at the last minute

Workshop

The workshops consist of six students and are led by two supervisors who propose a topic at the intersection of their disciplines. The group must develop a research project related to their topic and present it at the end of the week.

• Can two become one ? The case of Cnidarian-Symbiodiniaceae symbiotic evolution
  Ivan Aleksieienko, Cyndi Mae Bandong, Morgan Caors, Matthieu Giry, Ambre Ponnet, Martina Vento, supervised by Eve toulza & Chatianya Gokhale
   
• Plant pollination resilience to heat stress : a study case among population of Dactylis glomerata
  Noah Kilonzo, Thomas Souyris, Domenyka Hidalgo, Eva Tanneau, Pieriena Mendoza Yengle, Maxime Stanislawek, supervised by Artemis Perraki et CHristophe Thebaud
   
• Disent---ing the complexe relationship between xxxx symbionts, abiotic factors and carbon storage
  Timothée Darbois, Vincent Moulin, Samanta Silva Valencia, Audrey L'Héritier, Nura El Khouri Vidarte, Sarah Orth, supervised by Raoul Huys & Philippe Remigi
   
• Genomic adaptation to extreme environments : A case study of an endemic alpine plant (Saxifraga longifolia)
  Paula Ortega Lopez, Maxence François, Ruiqi Li, Sebastien Fargeton, Ellen Waddle, Miguel Figueroa Negrete, supervised by Donald Miles & Anais Gibert