Organised by Arnaud Maury, Project Manager of DeMythif.AI, the event offered a comprehensive introduction to the Horizon Europe MSCA COFUND program and to the vibrant research ecosystem of DataIA Institute, one of Europe’s leading innovation clusters in artificial intelligence.

A day dedicated to discovery, exchange, and collaboration

The program featured several highlights:

• A presentation of Institut DataIA by Demian Wassermann, Deputy Director for Research;

• An introduction to DeMythif.AI by Arnaud Maury, exploring the program’s origins, objectives, and opportunities;

• A lecture by Sylvain Chevallier on “Doing a PhD in the LLM era – a responsible use of GenAI in research”, addressing key questions about the ethical and responsible use of generative AI in research;

• An engaging team-building session where fellows took a stand in light-hearted “this or that” challenges — from cats vs dogs to C++ vs Python!

Supporting doctoral students across Université Paris-Saclay

In the afternoon, several Université Paris-Saclay services presented the resources and support available to doctoral students.
A warm thank you to all the speakers for their availability and valuable insights:

• Andrew Crawford and Mélissa Thomas, Academic Writing Center;

• Célian Godefroid, DIBISO (Open Science, Data & Legal Support);

• Sébastien Guilabert, Disability Inclusion Service;

• Sylvain Helderal, University Health Service.

A day of connection and community

This Welcome Day concluded with friendly exchanges, a lively quiz on the day’s content, and the announcement of the upcoming EUReCa Day (EU Research and Career Day), held on December 3rd.

Congratulations to all the new fellows, and many thanks to everyone who contributed to making this day a great moment of science, conviviality, and enthusiasm!

09:15am - Welcome Coffee

10am - Presentation of DataIA Institute, by Demian Wassermann (Deputy Director for Research)

10:15am - Presentation of the COFUND DeMythif.AI, by Arnaud Maury

• What is DeMythif.AI (a Horizon Europe, MSCA, COFUND, awarded to Université Paris-Saclay)

• The story of the DeMythif.AI project

• The perks and "duties" of the DeMythif.AI fellows

• Advantages of being at Université Paris-Saclay (a leading pole for research), with lots of sports and arts activities

10:40am - A course on "Doing PhD in LLM era: a responsible use of GenAI in research" by Sylvain Chevallier

11:40am - Icebreakers, animated by Mathieu Cholet

12:00 - Lunch break

2pm - Series of presentations by several services of Université Paris-Saclay

• Academic Writing Center by Andrew Crawford

• DIBISO (library, data, and open science department), about open science, legal assistance available in case of publications or patents etc.

• Disability department

• University's Health Service

3:30pm - Break, informal discussion with the speakers

4:30pm - Presentation of the EUReCa day (December 3rd, 2025)

4:45pm - Competitive quiz, animated by Arnaud Maury

5pm - End of the day