Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia doctoral students will compete to explain their dissertation topic clearly and concisely to judges and audience members in the first Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition conducted at UGA. The event will be held March 29 at 4 p.m. in the Odum School of Ecology Auditorium, located at 140 East Green Street.
The 3MT encourages students to develop the ability to explain their research in language that is easily understood by all members of the audience and the general public. The students will have three minutes to communicate their dissertation topic and its significance. Judges will select the first and second place winners, and audience members will have the opportunity to vote for a recipient of a People’s Choice award.
Presentations will be judged on three criteria: communication style, ability to help audience members comprehend the research and ability to engage listeners. Two qualifying rounds took place March 19 and March 21, narrowing the number of participants from 26 to 10 for the final competition of 3MT presentations.
The competition, developed by Australia’s University of Queensland in 2008, challenges students to summarize their ideas and identify their research discoveries. In addition to the three minute time limit, participants may use one static PowerPoint slide and may not use any props.
The 3MT competition is sponsored by the UGA Graduate School and is one of the events being held during the Graduate and Professional Students Appreciation Week, March 26-30, to recognize the contributions these students make to the university. This event is free and open to the public.