Three Minute Thesis

The Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition is a mainstay for many international and national graduate programs. The competition showcases public speaking and presentation skills as well as a graduate student’s ability to communicate research in a condensed time frame to a non-specialist audience. With only 180 seconds (three minutes), a single slide and no additional props or media, the competition will showcase some of the best and brightest graduate research projects at EKU. The 3MT@EKU is a collaborative effort between the EKU Graduate School, the EKU Graduate and Online Council, and the Noel Studio for Academic Creativity.

Build your resume/portfolio, learn new professional skills, and earn award money in the process.To register, visit EKU's 2024 3MT competition -- and for more information on this opportunity visit the links to left.

3MT Background:

The idea for the 3MT competition came about at a time when the state of Queensland was suffering severe drought. To conserve water, residents were encouraged to time their showers, and many people had a three-minute egg timer fixed to the wall in their bathroom. The then Dean of the University of Queensland Graduate School, Emeritus Professor Alan Lawson, put two and two together and the idea for the 3MT competition was born - to challenge grad students to describe their research in under three minutes to a general audience.

The first 3MT competition was held at UQ in 2008 with 160 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. Since 2011, the popularity of the competition has increased and 3MT competitions are now held in over 600 universities and institutions across 59 countries worldwide.