From the Lab to the Pub: PubhD Coimbra marks Its 8th anniversary
The initiative challenges doctoral students to communicate science informally in a bar.
PubhD Coimbra, a science communication initiative that challenges PhD students from the University of Coimbra (UC) to present their research in the informal setting of a bar is celebrating its 8th anniversary. The occasion will be marked with a special session on Thursday, 25th, at 9 pm, at Liquidâmbar..
Launched in Coimbra in 2017 during the SciComPT congress, PubhD follows a simple concept: PhD students from different fields share their projects with a diverse audience—without slides or audiovisual aids—inviting interaction and unexpected questions.
Since then, the monthly sessions (held on the last Thursday of each academic month at Liquidâmbar) have become a fixture in the city. Over the past eight years, more than 150 speakers have participated in over 50 sessions, attracting around 1,700 participants.
This week’s anniversary event will include two PhD presentations (Anthropology and Experimental Biology & Biomedicine), a roundtable with science communicators and former speakers, and a reflection on the project’s impact.
According to the organisers, PubhD Coimbra offers doctoral students a unique opportunity: “Sometimes the questions asked here never come up in academic contexts—and they can even change the direction of research.”
The event is part of the European Researchers' Night 2025 programme, with free admission.
PubhD Coimbra is supported by the UC Interdisciplinary Research Institute (IIIUC).
