UCF’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition

Doctoral research is being presented in a novel and exciting way at UCF’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. Doctoral students communicate their research in just three short minutes and with only one PowerPoint slide to non-expert judges while competing to win prizes.

Hosted by the College of Graduate Studies and Blackstone LaunchPad, 3MT is free and open to the public. The audience is invited to vote on their favorite presentation to determine the People’s Choice Award Winner. A panel of judges will determine the first place winner and runner up.

Save the date for 2020! The next UCF 3MT event will be held Wednesday, November 18, 2020 in the Student Union Cape Florida Ballroom.

For questions about this event, please email gradworkshops@ucf.edu.

Fall 2019 3MT Winners

Congratulations to the winners of our 3MT event held on November 20, 2019:

First Place: Nasif Sayeed, Biomedical Sciences PhD
Runner-Up: Omar Ahmed, Materials Science and Engineering PhD
People’s Choice: Nusaiba Zaman, Physics PhD

Fall 2019 3MT Participants

See our YouTube playlist for videos of the Fall 2019 3MT participants!

Omar Ahmed, Materials Science and Engineering PhD
Ian Biazzo, Conservation Biology PhD
Doreen Horschig, Security Studies PhD
Brianna Kurtz, Education PhD
Jennifer Loch, Conservation Biology PhD
Chris Long, Conservation Biology PhD
Muhammad Sajid, Physics PhD
Nasif Sayeed, Biomedical Sciences PhD
Miroslav Shapovalov, Security Studies PhD
Nusaiba Zaman, Physics PhD

Fall 2019 3MT Event Judges

We would like to thank the following UCF and Central Florida community members for serving as our event judges.

Chantel Carter
Associate Director, Office of Student Involvement

Cary D’Ortona
President of Arnold Palmer Hospital

Wendy Kurtz
Founder and President of Elizabeth Charles & Associates, LLC

Carl Metzger
Chief, UCF Police Department

About 3MT

The 3MT competition celebrates the exciting research conducted by doctoral students. Developed by the University of Queensland, the exercise cultivates students’ academic, presentation and research communication skills.

Participants are judged on the ability to effectively convey the essence and importance of their research in an engaging way to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes, with one PowerPoint slide. A panel of judges will determine the first, second and third place prize winners.

The first 3MT competition was held at the University of Queensland in 2008. In 2009 and 2010 the 3MT competition was promoted to other Australian and New Zealand universities. Since 2011, the popularity of the competition has increased and 3MT competitions are now held in over 600 universities across more than 59 countries worldwide.

Why 3MT?

How does $2,000 in scholarship prizes sound ($1,000 for first place, $750 for runner up, and $250 audience choice)? In addition to prizes, all applicants will learn how to:

Communicate your ideas effectively to the wider community.
Describe your research findings to a non-specialist audience.
Increase your profile within the UCF research community.
Network with other UCF doctoral students.
Develop an “elevator pitch” of your research

Eligibility

Participants must be currently enrolled UCF doctoral students actively engaged in doctoral research. A competitive candidate should have a well-conceived project (ideally their dissertation research), compelling data collected, and a novel story to share. Work presented must have been conducted at UCF for the student’s current degree program.

Participants must be available to present, in person, at the 3MT competition on November 20, 2019

All presentations will be videotaped and will appear on the Graduate College’s website.

Rules

A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted. No slide transitions, animations or ‘movement’ of any description are allowed. If material for public use is included on a slide, the reference(s) must be clearly cited on the slide. The slide is to be presented from the beginning of the oration.
No additional electronic media (e.g., sound and video files) are permitted.
No additional props (e.g., costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
Presentations are limited to three minutes maximum and competitors exceeding three minutes are disqualified.
Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g., 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

Communication style: Was the thesis topic and its significance communicated in language appropriate to an intelligent but non-specialist audience?
Comprehension: Did the presentation help the audience understand the research?
Engagement: Did the presentation make the audience want to know more?

Important Dates

Submission Open: September 9, 2019
3MT Info Session and Pitch Workshop: September 17, 2019
3MT Info Session and Pitch Workshop: October 3, 2019
Submission Deadline: October 16, 2019
Finalists Announced: October 30, 2019
Blackstone LaunchPad Coaching Sessions (for finalists): November 8-15, 2019
3MT Event: November 20, 2019

Additional Resources

Practice Your Presentation

A video recording studio is available by reservation and free of charge at UCF’s Technology Commons II. Watch yourself, assess your performance and share with others to get their feedback and improve your presentation.

Practice Your Presentation

Video Recording Studio is Available in Tech Commons II