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Registration closed for entering the Three Minute Thesis competition
An 80,000 word thesis would take 9 hours to present.
Your time limit… 3 minutes.
Call for Entries
Could you explain your doctoral research to a non-specialist audience within the time it takes to boil an egg? Would you like the chance to win £3,000 in the UK 3MT final? Then we want to hear from you!
In 2017, Brighton Doctoral College will be participating in the national Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition for the very first time. Our live final on Wednesday 17th May at Falmer promises to be one of the most memorable events in our Festival of Postgraduate Research, with the winner not only taking home a £400 cash prize but going on to represent Brighton University at the national level. Participating in this internationally renowned competition offers you a unique opportunity to raise your research profile; develop your communication, presentation and public engagement skills; hone the message of your research; network – and of course, have some fun!
If the prospect of successfully presenting your research within three minutes seems daunting and just plain crazy, we’d encourage you to attend our 3MT training workshops. And if you’re an early-stage student who’s not yet eligible to enter the official competition, you can still enter the Brighton competition! We’ve had a number of early-stage students express an interest in participating, so we’ve created our own category for pre-transfer students. Find out more here and register by 3rd April. All students are welcome to attend our workshop on 23rd March, either to practise or just watch others practise.
*Post-transfer by our video submission deadline, 30th April
About the Competition
3MT is an academic competition for doctoral researchers developed by the University of Queensland, Australia, in 2008. The competition challenges you to present your work in just three minutes, using only one, static powerpoint slide. The UK 3MT competition is hosted by Vitae, the global leader in supporting the professional development of researchers, and their grand final will be held in Birmingham on 11th September, 2017.
At Brighton, we’ll be offering 3MT training and practice workshops followed by a first round online heat where video submissions will be shortlisted by an internal academic judging panel. Shortlisted entrants will then go on to present at our live final during our Festival of Postgraduate Research.
Key Dates
| Internal competition (hosted by Brighton Doctoral College) | |
| Feb 8th | Workshop 1: introduction to the competition, advice, resources, idea generation and presentation preparation. BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE |
| March 23rd | Workshop 2: practice session with peer and staff feedback. BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE |
| April 3rd | Deadline for registration for University of Brighton competition |
| (Easter break: Friday 31 March – Monday 24th April) | |
| April 30th | Deadline for submission of 3MT videos for University of Brighton shortlisting |
| May 9th | Announcement of finalists (post and pre-transfer) for University of Brighton’s 3MT competition |
| May 17th | Live Brighton final at Falmer! 1st prize (post-transfer): £400. 1st prize (pre-transfer) £125. People’s choice prize: £250 |
| National competition (hosted by Vitae) | |
| July 7th | Deadline for video submission of Brighton’s winning entry to Vitae |
| July – Aug | Online semi-final, competing against other UK universities |
| Mid-August | Six finalists announced |
| September 11th | Live UK final at the Hilton Metropole in Birmingham at Vitae’s Researcher Development International Conference during the gala dinner. 1st prize (TBC): £3k grant. People’s Choice prize (TBC): opportunity to present at The Royal Institution. |
Prizes
Eligibility, rules and judging criteria
The national competition is open to doctoral students who have passed transfer* by the date of their first presentation (taken as the date of their video submission to Brighton) and who have not had their viva by the date of the Vitae national final on 11th September. Our Brighton competition is open to both pre- and post-transfer students but only the post-transfer winner will be put forward to the national semi-final.
The rules and judging criteria of 3MT are set down by the University of Queensland and while they are simple, they are also strict! Make sure you have understood what is required of you and how your submission will be assessed before you commit to the competition.
* EdD students should be within two years of thesis submission
How to Enter
- Sign up for our two training workshops via PhD Manager. We’d strongly encourage you to attend these sessions but if you can’t, don’t worry. You can still participate in the competition.
- Submit your online registration form to us by 3rd April.
- Upload your three minute video (unedited) to us by 30th April. See our 3MT Rules and Judging Criteria for full submission details.
If you wish to join the 3MT competition, please ensure you’re available for our live final at Falmer on 17th May 2017 and for the national final (post-transfer students only) in Birmingham on 11th September 2017. If you are selected to compete in the UK final, your expenses will be paid for by Brighton Doctoral College.