Throughout June and July, various training sessions were held to select and prepare the candidates. Marta Arnal Forné, with her presentation 'Decoding the Language of Our Cells: Extracellular Vesicles and Aging' was ultimately chosen to take part in the finale to be held in Opole (Poland) on 21 October.

The local FORTHEM office at the University of València has actively collaborated with the Doctoral School to select the UV representative who will participate in the grand finale of the ‘FORTHEM Researcher Grand Prix’ scientific dissemination competition, which this year is being organised in Opole by the Uniwersytet Opolski.

As part of this collaboration, several training sessions have been organised by Isabel Mendoza, Vanessa Roger and Josep Valero, UV professors and experts in scientific communication, design and performing arts. During these sessions, candidates received specific training in content selection, design strategies to achieve better communication skills, and stage skills.

The first session, prior to the 3rd UV Thesis Dissemination Day, held on 17 June, was aimed at the 16 candidates selected by the UV Doctoral School from among over 40 applicants who applied. At this first meeting, in addition to the training itself, the candidates had the opportunity to meet each other and discuss their research topics.

On 22 July, the second training session took place, aimed solely at the three finalists of the 3rd UV Thesis Dissemination Day: María Lucía Tamayo Fraile, Marta Arnal Forné and Maragda Puigcerver Pérez. During the session, the finalists had to give a presentation in English, following the format of the FORTHEM Researcher Grand Prix. Finally Marta Arnal Forné, with her presentation Decoding the Language of Our Cells: Extracellular Vesicles and Aging, was the selected to represent the Universitat de València in the grand finale to be held on 21 October at the Uniwersytet Opolski in the Polish city of Opole.

On 16 September, the last training session will take place, addressed exclusively at Marta Arnal Forné, as the UV's representative in the grand finale, in which she will receive personalised training from the three professors in order to finalise her presentation and prepare for the final on the 21 October.

Finally, at the end of October, our representative will travel to Opole to take part in the grand finale, accompanied by a delegation from the FORTHEM office at the Universitat de València. There they will have the opportunity to do several rehearsals and polish any last-minute details before the final performance.

The grand finale can be streamed from any device, and the UV will also set up a room with a large screen where we can gather to watch the event live and cheer on our representative together.