Three Minute Thesis

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT^®) is an academic competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia for research students. 3MT cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills. The competition supports their capacity to effectively explain their research in three minutes, in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.

Winners of the 2026 Three-Minute Thesis Competition

Undergraduate winners

First and People’s Choice: Isabella Gerardi, English and Philosophy.
- "Administering Justice? The Role of Law in Postcolonial Literature."
Second: Separa Hilemariame, Bioengineering.
- "Chitosan Based PVA-Hydrogels For Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery Applications."
Third: Julia Harrison, Fashion Design.
- "Nature vs Structure: Finding a Place in the World."

Graduate winners

First: Claire Leamon, Psychology.
- "Considering the Context of Sadness: Examining Emotion Processing and Internalizing Behaviors in Preschoolers."
Second: Kamran Aidan Walsh, Marine Science & Technology
- "Evaluating the Performance of Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) Recreational Fishery Management Measures."
Third: Jessica M. Odell, Law.
- "Suicide By Design: The Dangers of Modern AI Companionship."
Fourth: Allison Leanne Morones, Artisanry (Fibers).
- "Wild Cactus: An Original Puppet Show about the American Southwest"
Fifth and People’s Choice: Abhishek Ravishankar, Engineering & Applied Science.
- "Divide and Conquer: Improving Gravitational Waveform Surrogate Models Using Domain-Decomposition."

Participate in the Office of Undergraduate Research's Three Minute Thesis competition

1st prize: $1,000
2nd prize: $500
3rd prize: $250
People's Choice Award: $250

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 (e.g., sound and video files) are permitted.
No additional props (e.g., 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 (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

At every level of the competition each competitor will be judged on several criteria. Judges use a standard 3MT Judging Rubric. Each criterion is equally weighted and has an emphasis on audience.