Showcase your thesis

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic competition developed by the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, for all Higher Degree by Research (HDR) Candidates.

We encourage all PhD candidates to participate in the upcoming competition this year. Please look out for communications from your Faculty about Faculty Heats. You can contact Graduate Research Development (email gr.development@mq.edu.au) for training, support and feedback.

From 6-9 September 2021, the Macquarie University community were invited to view the Finalists’ entries and select their favourite in the People’s Choice ballot. The videos continue to be available on this site, below.

Winners of the University Finals were announced on Friday 10 September on the 3MT iLearn unit. You can also watch the presentations by the Faculty finalists on the 3MT iLearn unit.

First place winner Hamid Yahyaei from the Department of Applied Finance (MQBS) impressed the judges with his highly engaging presentation, Where does money come from?

Congratulations to the other winners!

  • Second place: Juliën Lubeek, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (FSE) with his entry Microscopes as time machines to help wildlife conservation
  • Third place: Tash Pocovi, Department of Health Sciences (FMHHS) with her entry Breaking the chain of recurrent back pain
  • People’s choice: Robert Newport, Macquarie Medical School (FMHHS) with his entry The way we see things

A special thank you to our prestigious judging panel: Professor Sakkie Pretorius, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Simon Handley, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Graduate Research Academy), and Professor Dominique Parrish, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching).

You can show your support for Hamid by voting for him in the People’s Choice ballot on 20 October on the Asia-Pacific 3MT website!

Watch the Macquarie 3MT Winner, Hamid Yahyaei

Watch video

August: Macquarie 3MT Competition begins!

  • Faculty & Departmental heats
  • September 6-9: Judges deliberation
  • September 6-9: People's Choice Voting
  • September 10: Macquarie Winner announced

September/October: Virtual Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition

  • ​27 September - Asia-Pacific 3MT Semi-Final
    • ​Online Showcase / Judging
  • 11 October - Asia-Pacific 3MT Final
    • ​Online Showcase / Judging
  • 20 October - Virtual Asia-Pacific 3MT Final
    • ​Meet the Finalist Q&A / People's Choice Voting/ Announcement of Winners (Zoom Webinar)

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The University of Queensland (UQ) has made the decision to move the 2021 Asia-Pacific Three Minute Thesis Competition to a virtual format (video submission).

Information can be found below detailing the new competition format. Competitors can find additional information directly from the Asia-Pac Competitors Guide website.

Macquarie candidates participating in the Macquarie competition should download and use the Macquarie Identifying Slide for Competitors [PPT 1,118KB].

People's Choice Voting will be open during 6-9 September 2021 on the 3MT iLearn unit. Only those who watch all presentations are eligible to vote.

Competitors have three minutes to give an engaging and dynamic talk on their thesis topic, and its significance, in language appropriate to an intelligent but non-specialist audience. The talk should engage the audience without reducing the research to entertainment value only. As such, the competition does not trivialise or "dumb-down" research but forces students to consolidate their ideas and crystallise their research discoveries.

Modifications to the 3MT rules have been made to accommodate the new virtual format.

  • Presentations are limited to 3 minutes and competitors exceeding 3 minutes are disqualified.
  • Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts their presentation through speech (timing does not include the 3MT title slide and commences from when the competitor starts speaking, not the start of the video).
  • Videos must meet the following criteria:
    • Filmed on the horizontal;
    • Filmed on a plain background;
    • Filmed from a static position;
    • Filmed from one camera angle;
    • Contain a 3MT title slide;
    • Contain a 3MT PowerPoint slide (top right corner/right side/cut to).
  • A single static slide is permitted in the presentation (no slide transitions, animations or ‘movement’ of any description). This can be visible continuously, or ‘cut to’ (as many times as you like) for a maximum of 1 minute.
  • The 3 minute audio must be continuous – no sound edits or breaks.
  • No additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment and animated backgrounds) are permitted within the recording. Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps or songs).
  • No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted within the video recording.
  • The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.
  • Submissions via video format (only video link provided to Event Coordinators). Files sent in other formats will not be accepted.
  • Entries submitted for final adjudication to Wildcard or University Final are to be submitted from the School/ Faculty/Institute 3MT Event Coordinator. Competitors should not submit their videos directly to 3MT.

Note: Competitors *will not* be judged on video/ recording quality or editing capabilities (optional inclusions). Judging will focus on the presentation, ability to communicate research to a non-specialist audience, and 3MT PowerPoint slide.

Macquarie University will be following the same eligibility, rules and judging guidelines of the Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition 2020, hosted by the University of Queensland. These eligibility, rules and judging guidelines are as follows:

Eligibility

Anyone who is active in a *PhD or *MPhil program (including thesis under submission) will be eligible to participate in 3MT. Graduates are not eligible.

* Note: degree must be at least two thirds research (definition drawn from Grant Guidelines 2006 for Higher Education Support Act (HESA) 2003) and must produce a thesis that is examined externally.

MPhil candidates are welcome to enter the Macquarie competition, but the national eligibility rules prevent them from progressing to the Asia-Pacific event.

Each faculty will be holding heats during the coming months and the 9-12 winners of those heats will submit their video to compete in the Macquarie 3MT Final.

Judging criteria

  1. Comprehension and content:
    • Did the presentation provide an understanding of the background to the research question being addressed and its significance?
    • Did the presentation clearly describe the key results of the research including conclusions and outcomes?
    • Did the presentation follow a clear and logical sequence?
    • Was the thesis topic, key results and research significance and outcomes communicated in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience?
    • Did the speaker avoid scientific jargon, explain terminology and provide adequate background information to illustrate points?
    • Did the presenter spend adequate time on each element of their presentation - or did they elaborate for too long on one aspect or was the presentation rushed?
  2. Engagement and communication:
  • Did the oration make the audience want to know more?
  • Was the presenter careful not to trivialise or generalise their research?
  • Did the presenter convey enthusiasm for their research?
  • Did the presenter capture and maintain their audience's attention?
  • Did the speaker have sufficient stage presence, eye contact and vocal range; maintain a steady pace, and have a confident stance?
  • Did the PowerPoint slide enhance the presentation - was it clear, legible, and concise?

Prizes for the Macquarie Winners:

  • Winner: $1000
  • Second Place: $500
  • Third Place: $250
  • People's Choice Winner: $250

Note: Prize money is to be used for research costs only and is not a cash prize.

Prizes for the Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition 2021

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

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic competition developed by the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, for all HDR Candidates.

The first 3MT competition was held at UQ in 2008 with 160 Research Higher Degree students competing. In 2009 and 2010 the 3MT competition was promoted to other Australian and New Zealand universities and enthusiasm for the concept grew. Due to its adoption in numerous universities, a multi-national event was developed, and the Inaugural Trans-Tasman 3MT competition was held at UQ in 2010.

In November 2013, the first Universitas 21 (U21) 3MT competition was held with several universities from around the world competing in a virtual competition.

2016 brings an expansion of the Trans-Tasman 3MT competition to include a select number of Asian universities. The competition has now been renamed to the Asia-Pacific 3MT competition. Full details are on the 3MT website.

Macquarie University heats are run through the faculties. For more information contact your faculty HDR Administrators.

Previous Macquarie Winners

Macquarie University will be following the same eligibility, rules and judging guidelines of the Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition 2019, hosted by the University of Queensland. These eligibility, rules and judging guidelines are as follows:

Eligibility

  • Anyone who is active in a *PhD or *MPhil program (including thesis under submission) will be eligible to participate in 3MT. Graduates are not eligible.
    • *Degree must be at least two thirds research (definition drawn from Grant Guidelines 2006 for Higher Education Support Act (HESA) 2003) and must produce a thesis that is examined externally.
  • MPhil candidates are welcome to enter the Macquarie competition, but the national eligibility rules prevent them from progressing to the Asia-Pacific event.

Rules

  • A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted. No slide transitions, animations or 'movement' of any description are allowed. The slide is to be presented from the beginning of the oration.
  • No additional electronic media (eg. sound and video files) are permitted.
  • No additional props (eg. 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 (eg. no poems, raps or songs).
  • Presentations are to commence from the stage.
  • 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.

Judging criteria

  1. Comprehension and content:
    • Did the presentation provide an understanding of the background to the research question being addressed and its significance?
    • Did the presentation clearly describe the key results of the research including conclusions and outcomes?
    • Did the presentation follow a clear and logical sequence?
    • Was the thesis topic, key results and research significance and outcomes communicated in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience?
    • Did the speaker avoid scientific jargon, explain terminology and provide adequate background information to illustrate points?
    • Did the presenter spend adequate time on each element of their presentation - or did they elaborate for too long on one aspect or was the presentation rushed?
  2. Engagement and communication:
  • Did the oration make the audience want to know more?
  • Was the presenter careful not to trivialise or generalise their research?
  • Did the presenter convey enthusiasm for their research?
  • Did the presenter capture and maintain their audience's attention?
  • Did the speaker have sufficient stage presence, eye contact and vocal range; maintain a steady pace, and have a confident stance?
  • Did the PowerPoint slide enhance the presentation - was it clear, legible, and concise?