Laurent Breeus-Loos brings the PhD Cup to UAntwerpen
Famous knights such as Lancelot and Gawain openly weep, embrace one another, and unashamedly kiss each other on the mouth. That, in a nutshell, summarizes the research of Laurent Breeus-Loos (Department of Literature). He won over both the jury and the audience, claiming victory in the Flemish PhD Cup.
The PhD Cup offers young researchers a platform to showcase their work. In a three-minute pitch, participants must explain their research as clearly and engagingly as possible to a broad audience. This year, 81 recently graduated PhD researchers entered the competition. After an initial selection round, the candidates received extensive media training, followed by a semi-final and, ultimately, the final on 21 October at the Handelsbeurs in Ghent.
The final turned into a true triumph for Kapellen native Laurent Breeus-Loos. In his doctoral research at the Department of Literature at UAntwerp, Breeus-Loos studied emotions in medieval chivalric romances from the Low Countries. His findings challenge the modern stereotype of the emotionally detached knight: emotions were not taboo, and self-control primarily meant expressing feelings through appropriate behaviour rather than suppressing them.
Already the fourth UAntwerp winner
With his pitch, 'Why knights cried without shame', Breeus-Loos convinced the jury, which included VRT science journalist Koen Wauters. The audience also chose the UAntwerp researcher as their favourite. As a result, he won a €5,000 training voucher for Vlerick Business School, an invitation from the University of Flanders, the opportunity to publish a book with Academia Press, and €1,500 from the National Lottery.
Now in its eleventh edition, the PhD Cup is organised by SciMingo. Laurent Breeus-Loos is already the fourth UAntwerp researcher to win the prize. Physicist Ben Van Duppen was the first, in 2017. A year later, space researcher Angelique Van Ombergen took the title, and in 2020 ophthalmologist Bert Van den Bogerd added his name to the list of laureates.