A thesis in three minutes

Why would a PhD student condense their 80,000 word thesis into a three-minute presentation, and what are the benefits of doing so?

  • 6 September 2019

    September, 2018. In front of a packed room, 58 PhD students from Australia, New Zealand and Asia raced the clock as they competed in the Asia-Pacific Three Minute Thesis (3MT) final at the University of Queensland (UQ).

    3 min thesis winner being presented his cheque.

    Having developed their thesis over a number of years, the students were challenged to condense their research into engaging presentations that are no more than three minutes long. Through a series of tough semi-finals, the judges whittled the field down to just 10 students who took to the stage for the final.

    The eventual victor was Yasmin Mustapha Kamil from Universiti Putra in Malaysia, with an engaging presentation on her work in developing a quick, cheap and accurate diagnostic tool for dengue fever. With her powerful presentation on communication and autism, Selene Petit from Macquarie University was the 2018 runner-up.

    What is 3MT?

    The Three Minute Thesis is an international academic competition developed by UQ. With a mere three minutes to win over the audience and judges with a compelling presentation on their thesis topic and its significance, the 3MT competition is designed to help Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Professional Doctorate (Research) students develop their academic, presentation and research communication skills.

    “The competition provides a platform that showcases the amazing research PhD students are conducting across the Asia-Pacific region,” said Professor Alastair McEwan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research Training) at UQ.

    History of the competition

    The idea for Three Minute Thesis came about at a time when the state of Queensland was suffering through a severe drought. To conserve water, residents were encouraged to restrict their time in the shower. The then Dean of the UQ Graduate School, Emeritus Professor Alan Lawson, saw potential in this to help develop the presentation skills of his students.

    The first 3MT competition was held in 2008 at UQ with 160 Higher Degree by Research (HDR) candidates competing. The competition was promoted to other Australian and New Zealand universities throughout 2009, and enthusiasm for the concept grew.

    In 2010, a multi-national event was developed, and the Inaugural Trans-Tasman 3MT competition was held at UQ. 2016 saw an expansion of the Trans-Tasman 3MT competition to include universities from the South-East and North Asia regions, with the competition – renamed the Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition – now being held in over 600 universities across more than 65 countries.

    Benefits of the Three Minute Thesis

    It is widely accepted that academic research drives prosperity, and can help build a much more resilient and entrepreneurial economy. But what are some of the specific benefits of compressing an 80,000 word thesis presentation into a mere three minutes?

    A short clip produced by UQ, Dr Megan Rossi – winner of the 2014 3MT competition – discusses how, apart from the generous prize money, the 3MT competition helped her career by promoting her research, which has led to further consultancy work and meeting potential collaborators.

    The 2019 Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition will be held on Friday 4th of October at the University of Queensland, where finalists from 3MT competitions in universities across Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, North-East Asia and South-East Asia will compete for the following prizes:

    • Winner: $5000 research travel grant
    • Runner Up: $2000 research travel grant
    • People’s Choice: $1000 research travel grant

    UniBank and 3MT

    UniBank has been sponsoring the 3MT competition for three years now. This year, the Bank is sponsoring prizes for 3MT winners at UTS, Western Sydney University, University of Wollongong, QUT, University of Newcastle, University of Melbourne, RMIT, Curtin University, University of Western Australia, University of Queensland and Griffith University in addition to our sponsorship of the Asia-Pacific People’s Choice Award.

    The Three-Minute Thesis competition is important to us because we believe in the contribution that universities make to our community, and to the world. We believe in the power that higher learning has to change minds and how things are done, because knowledge, discovery and new ways of thinking are important to us too. Because of this, we’re determined to deliver smarter financial options and exceptional lifetime banking experiences for staff, students and graduates of Australian universities and their families.

    Mike Lanzing, UniBank General Manager states, “I love the passion, skill and enthusiasm demonstrated by all contestants. Their academic endeavours showcase how research can have a positive impact on society. Our support for the competition also exemplifies our commitment to social responsibility.”

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