It is often said there are no short cuts to success and 2011 Three Minute Thesis (3MT™) Trans-Tasman champion and UQ PhD student Matthew Thompson is proof there is no substitute for preparation.
Now furthering his higher degree research into crime scene fingerprint analysis at UCLA in California as a Fulbright Scholar, Mr Thompson said competitors should leave nothing to chance before presenting at the prestigious international competition.
“I delivered those three minutes to myself dozens of times, and to my wife and friends only a little bit less,” Mr Thompson said.
“I was looking not only for positive feedback, but for advice on what parts they didn’t understand, and areas that could be made clearer and more engaging.
“I then presented it at the school level, the faculty level, and then at the UQ level, so by the time I reached the Trans-Tasman competition they were well honed words, and I was sick of my own voice.”
First developed by UQ in 2008, 3MT challenges research higher degree students to communicate the significance of their projects to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes.
More than 40 students from across Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the South Pacific will compete in the 3MT Trans-Tasman competition on Thursday 11 October at UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute Auditorium.
UQ will be represented by the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology’s Amanda Pearce after she won the 3MT UQ Final in mid-September.
Mr Thompson said the experience he gained by competing in 3MT had made a huge difference to his research.
“3MT changed the way I think about my PhD. I was forced to consider the social and economic impacts of my research, and how lives might be improved as a result,” Mr Thompson said.
“Simply participating in the Three Minute Thesis helped me to see things from that perspective.”
While 3MT was instrumental in making Mr Thompson a better communicator, he said there were many other tangible benefits.
“I learned a lot about myself and my research as well. When you are doing research day-to-day it is easy to get caught up in the nuances of experimental design, data analysis and publication, but Three Minute Thesis really helped me to pull back and see the bigger picture.”
The 3MT Trans-Tasman competition includes a morning Semi Final involving competitors from every participating university, before a judging panel chooses the best eight presenters for the afternoon’s Final.
The winner will be awarded $5000 and their enrolling institution will have the right to host the competition in 2013.
While the afternoon’s Final is invitation only due to limited seating, registration is open to attend the morning’s Semi Final.
Both the Semi Final and Final can also be seen via JACtv’s live video and audio feed that will be available on the day.
For more information about 3MT, please visit http://www.uq.edu.au/grad-school/three-minute-thesis.
Further information: Mark Schroder, UQ Graduate School Marketing & Communications, Tel: 3346 0509 or m.schroder@uq.edu.au.
