Since 2008, the University of Queensland Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition has helped PhD students hone their communication skills, receive peer review, and gain skills surrounding the presentation of their research to a wider audience. This year with COVID-19 restrictions in place, the 3MT went virtual allowing HDR candidates to continue to participate. Students pre-recorded and edited their 3MT presentations and uploaded them to Vimeo.

On Thursday 1 October, eight finalists from across Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, Northeast and Southeast Asia came together for a live Q&A event to discuss the significance of their research and hear the announcement of the 2020 winners.

The ACGR congratulates all candidates who participated this year.

And the winners are…

2020 Asia-Pacific 3MT Final Winner: Luo Yifei, Nanyang Technical University

2020 Asia-Pacific 3MT Final Winner – Luo Yifei – “Listening in on Plants through a Conductive Liquid Glue” from Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) on Vimeo.

2020 Asia-Pacific 3MT Final Runner-Up: Anna Frouws, Edith Cowan University

2020 Asia-Pacific 3MT Final Runner-Up – Anna Frouws – “Seagrasses, the Avengers of the sea: a story of diversity and resilience” from Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) on Vimeo.

2020 Asia-Pacific 3MT Final People’s Choice: Stefania Peracchi, University of Wollongong

2020 Asia-Pacific 3MT Final People’s Choice – Stefania Peracchi – “Moon to Mars and beyond” from Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) on Vimeo.

The winners each recieved a research grant ($5000, $2000 and $1000 respectively) sponsored by Springer Nature and Unibank.

Find out more about the 3MT competition here.