Three Minute Thesis Competition hosted by ISPGR

What is the 3MT® Competition?

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland(UQ), Australia. Graduate students present their research and its wider impact in 3 minutes or less to a panel of judges. The challenge is to present complex research in an engaging, accessible, and compelling way, using only one static slide.  The first 3MT® competition was held at UQ in 2008 with 160 candidates competing.  3MT® has grown over the years, and is now held in over 900 universities across more than 85 countries worldwide.

The 3MT® competition will provide ISPGR trainees with an opportunity to refine skills that can be transferred after graduation to diverse career paths.  Distilling complex research into a clear form, without over-simplifying, and highlighting the wider implications of the research are important skills to carry into post-graduate employment and public service.

The competition allows graduate students to showcase their research to a wider multidisciplinary audience, within the ISPGR community and to the general public. The 3MT® is a unique opportunity to communicate the innovative and significant research undertaken by ISPGR trainees.

Who is eligible?

• Presenters must be ISPGR members and be registered in a master’s (Thesis or MRP) or PhD program at the time of the 3MT® competition, and could be at any stage of progress (i.e., proposal, data collected, etc.) on their research and analysis.
• PhD and master’s students who have defended, but have not yet convocated, are eligible to participate.

How to apply to the 3MT® Competition?

Eligible candidates are invited to apply by submitting an abstract through the linked form below.

Submissions should have a summary of candidates research in language that the general public can understand and follow the submission requirements below:

• Using simple terms, briefly describe your thesis research.
• Indicate why and to whom the research is important
• Indicate the major outcomes and the benefits of your research to the ISPGR community and to the world.

Please note the following 3MT® rules

• 3MT® presentations must represent the primary research the student conducted in his/her graduate program.
• A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted. No slide transitions, animations or ‘movement’ of any description are allowed. The slide is to be displayed at the beginning of the presentation.
• No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted.
• No additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
• Presentations are limited to 3 minutes maximum and competitors exceeding 3 minutes are disqualified.
• Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps or songs).
• Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts their presentation through either movement or speech.
• The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.
• The finals of the competition will occur either during a live virtual webinar presentation to the community during non-Congress years or in person at the World Congress during live congress years.

Competitors must present remotely in real-time and agree to be video-recorded.
They must also allow those video-recordings to be made public.