At many universities in Switzerland, the doctoral defense has two stages: the private colloque de thèse and the public soutenance de thèse. The colloque is when the committee meets for the first time as a group and gives feedback on the dissertation. This is the meeting when the committee decides whether the candidate is ready to defend, and if not, what work needs to be completed first. It's also when the timeline for completion / defense is set.
My colloque de thèse was today. I passed with minor revisions. We scheduled the defense for Friday, 9 December.
