Time is precious and so is our research
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a national competition celebrating the research undertaken by PhD candidates.
Competing for a chance to represent UniSA in the Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition, our PhD candidates communicate their research using one slide, and non-technical language in just three minutes.
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia.
Watch the 2021 UniSA 3MT® Finalist Presentations
Watch the 2021 UniSA 3MT Finals event
Missed our 2021 3MT Final? Catch up on the full event recording to see who takes out this year's title and the chance to represent UniSA in the 2021 Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition.
Hear from past participants
The 3MT competition was truly a great experience – it doesn’t matter if you are beginning, or almost at the end of your PhD journey, the whole process will help your research in some way. I was able to see my research as a whole, be more succinct about my aims and methodology, and practise my presentation skills. I even had people from industry and other universities reach out to me as a result, interested in being part of my study and wanting to collaborate. Putting your research out there will always be a scary thing, but you will definitely get much more out of it than you expect.
Writing my 3MT challenged me to step back and think about the bigger picture of my research. I was able to reconnect with why my research is important and why I am passionate about it. Presenting at the University finals was a very exciting experience – it is a rare opportunity to present to such a wide and captive audience. I have since shared my 3MT video on social media and with potential research collaborators as an introduction to my work. Now that I am completing my thesis, I can reflect on my 3MT to remind myself of the key messages of my research.
Imagine you meet someone in a café, asking you about your research. Which parts of your complex research do you explain? Taking part in the 3MT competition may help you – it did for me. To describe my research in three minutes, I needed to decide which findings were more important which required me to see the bigger picture of my research and create a story that flowed. I was able to formulate a simple explanation which would be understood by a non-academic audience. The process has made the rest of my PhD journey easier.
