CROSSDISCIPLINARY DISCUSSIONS | PART 1

Today, we’d like to highlight our students who volunteered to participate in our interdisciplinary discussions during our Interdisciplinary Day event a few weeks ago.

These discussions were designed to encourage an interdisciplinary approach, prompting students to connect their academic expertise to real-world global issues 🌍💡

Our first group then tackled the first topic:

🌍 Planet in danger, biodiversity under threat: what are the solutions?
Drawing on the IPBES report on transformative changes (December 2024), they explored practical applications related to their respective disciplines.

🎤 Our student speakers & their contributions:

💧 Ana Idiaquez Valbuena (Modeling of Biological and Environmental Systems) explored the impact of PFAS pollution in water and the associated health risks, while proposing possible mitigation strategies.

🌱🧪 Louna FILBET (Chemistry for Health, Safety, and Nutrition) discussed the role of medicinal plants in sustainable chemistry, highlighting their benefits as well as the threats posed by overharvesting and habitat destruction.

🌾 Oïana Brayle (Plant and Microbial Sciences for Agro-Environment) analyzed the historical link between agriculture and biodiversity loss, before proposing innovative agroecological strategies for sustainable agriculture.

⚕️🔄 Mai Linh Sorroche (Human Health Sciences) demonstrated the interconnection between environmental health and human health through a case study on Vietnam’s mangroves. She explained how the degradation of mangroves leads to increased water pollution, promoting the accumulation of toxins in the food chain and increasing the risk of cancer. She then proposed six solutions from the IPBES report to address this problem.

💬 A dynamic multidisciplinary exchange
After their presentations, the students engaged in a discussion to explore the connections between their work. They discussed their work in front of a panel of international researchers from the MAK’IT Montpellier Institute and the IDIL graduate program, including:
🔹 Anand Madhur
🔹 Mourad Latati
🔹 Mathieu Sicard
🔹 Emanuel A. Fronhofer
🔹 Cherine Bechara

We would like to thank Camille Guibal, head of the IPBES Technical Support Unit, for leading this discussion with such expertise.

👏 Congratulations to all the students on their outstanding performance, which was unanimously praised by the jury!

We’ll be sharing the second part soon, where we’ll highlight another group of students who took part in these exciting exchanges!