Teaching
Preparing a thesis defence
Detect the defence at D-14, prepare the speaking notes for the supervisor or the jury president, and the report.
Screenshot of a real tool · fictitious data, names blurred
The problem
Supervisor, president, jury member: every defence requires reading the thesis, writing a report and preparing a few words. It is often left until the day before.
Step-by-step method
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Detect at D-14: the weekly review spots upcoming defences in the calendar and emails.
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Gather: manuscript, external examiners’ reports, the candidate’s background.
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Speaking notes: welcome, acknowledgements, the candidate’s background, contribution of the work, five graded questions.
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Defence report: from your notes, Claude proposes a structure and a draft that you correct.
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Two note formats: full for a jury presidency, short for a jury member role.
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Check what is missing: exact role on the jury, confirmed date, time and place (a date that differs between the calendar and the official notice is flagged), documents to bring (official record of the defence, reports).
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Reminder at D-7: the notes are ready and the documents gathered.
Deliverable
A one-page Word sheet and a draft report.
Safeguards
The manuscript is unpublished work: it stays in your workspace.
Starter prompt
Here is the thesis manuscript and my reading notes. Prepare my notes as jury president: welcome, acknowledgements, background, contribution of the work, and five questions of increasing difficulty.