PhD students battle it out for 3MT Trans-Tasman title

University of Queensland Three Minute Thesis (3MT) winner Teegan Green will compete against 50 finalists from universities across the Asia Pacific on Friday, in a bid to win the 3MT Trans-Tasman final.

The PhD students will explain their years of research to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes.

Ms Green’s research focuses on tele-health and the use of technologies such as phone, video conferencing and email to deliver clinical diagnoses.

The free event, to be held at UQ St Lucia, is open to the public via registration on the 3MT website.

Developed by UQ in 2008, the 3MT cultivates students’ academic, presentation and research communication skills.

UQ Graduate School Dean Professor Al McEwan said 3MT was designed to develop skills that would give students an important career advantage once they completed their studies.

“It is a reality that many PhD students will need to communicate their ideas and results to people who may not necessarily have expertise in their field,” he said.

“3MT develops students’ ability to communicate the significance and outcomes of their project in a short space of time.”

The competition is now held in more than 200 universities across more than 18 countries.

The winner of the 2015 Trans-Tasman 3MT competition will get a $5000 research travel grant provided by Springer Science+Business Media and a funded trip to compete in the Falling Walls Lab Final and Conference in Berlin. More information on sponsorship can be found on the 3MT website. 

Date: Friday 2 October
Venue: The GHD Auditorium, Advanced Engineering Building (49-200), UQ St Lucia Campus, Brisbane

Semi-finals: 8:30am to 1:30pm

Finals: 3pm to 4:30pm

Media: UQ Graduate School Engagement and Development team Janardan Kewin, 3mt@uq.edu.au, (07) 3346 0509.