Can you condense and refine your research project to quickly and succinctly explain it to your peers and the wider community? And can you do it in less than 180 seconds?
The 3MT competition can teach you how! Flinders University PhD students are invited to compete to promote their research, develop their communication skills, boost their career and be in the running to win the Asia-Pacific 3MT prize of a $5,000 research travel grant.
3MT University Final - Friday 29 August 2025
Join us as our 6 outstanding finalists compete in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Semi-Final on Friday 29 August 2025, from 3-4pm at Alere Function Centre, Bedford Park.
Be part of the excitement in person (please register via Inspire) or tune in via the livestream link below to support our talented HDR students as they showcase their research in just three minutes!
Meet the 2025 Finalists
College: Science and Engineering
Title: Meet me here: stories, fossils and deep time.
My PhD project investigates the complex interactions between people and animals in semi-arid southern Australia tens of thousands of years ago. It centres on the animal bones from Warratyi rock shelter (Vulkathunha–Gammon Ranges, Adnyamathanha Country) and blends archaeology, palaeontology and traditional knowledge. By working directly with Adnyamathanha, this project will provide a more comprehensive picture of the past, but it also sets an example for how research can serve living communities. It is important to me that my research uplifts people.
Majorly, the 3MT competition has helped me refine my own research question and encouraged me to consider the real significance of my project. The process has made my project clearer as I have communicated it to those outside my field.
College: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Title: Volunteering overseas: have a terrible time!
My PhD focuses on the long-term impacts and memories from overseas volunteering experiences. This stemmed from my own experience as a volunteer in Bangladesh as I questioned whether the investment of time and money had been worthwhile. With this alternative form of travel booming, it’s a pertinent question to ask whether these experiences do make a difference to the volunteer, and how it could be improved.
The answers to this question, co-created with the participants in my research, have been surprising and too interesting not to share. Yet I feared that they may just end up being relegated to a chapter of my thesis. Participating in the 3MT competition has given me an amazing platform to share these findings more broadly. Not only that, but I’ve also met some brilliant researchers from other colleges and learned about their groundbreaking work too.
College: Medicine and Public Health
Title: Alcohol: Midlife Crisis or Crisis in a Bottle?
My name is Stefano, and I am a second-year PhD candidate. My research is looking to help prevent, intervene or change risky drinking behaviours that have, or are currently ongoing among Australian midlife-aged men. As a former bartender of eight years, I have seen many occurrences of risky drinking among a variety of cohorts. I have since switched sides, working to explore effective and efficient ways to help inform policy and health specialists about an understudied Australian cohort of risky drinkers. This is done in collaboration with my industry partners; The Alcohol and Drug Foundation.
When I first commenced my PhD in 2024, a colleague bought me to the MPH heats for the 3MT, insisting that I would one day compete in this myself. Time skip one year and I am competing with the primary goal of improving my public speaking - an area of improvement. Presenting my research in 3 minutes is a tough skill. Nonetheless, the journey also allowed me to reflect on how far I've come since my undergraduate years in hopes to one day present my research confidently at conferences in my own personal style - expressing my passion to an audience while having fun and some laughs along the way!
College: Education, Psychology and Social Work
Title: Conspiracy Contagion: The Power of Beliefs and Their Role in Collective Protest
My PhD investigates the interaction between cognition and social influence to examine their combined effects on conspiracy belief formation. I am also interested in examining the relationship between belief in conspiracy theories and support for or engagement in hostile and reactionary forms of collective action. I am passionate about understanding the origins and consequences of conspiracy theories in light of their wide and rapid spread across social media.
From participating in the 3MT competition, I have gained invaluable research dissemination skills. In particular, 3MT has provided me the opportunity to craft and deliver an effective and engaging pitch of not only my research methodology, but my research implications and how they may be useful to entities outside of higher education.
College: Medicine and Public Health
Title: Tobacco in the Top End
In my PhD research I'm looking at tobacco retail in the NT. I think reducing the accessibility tobacco products is crucial to addressing the disproportionate harm smoking causes to some communities, and I want my research to contribute to a fairer, healthier society
Whenever you tell people you're doing a phd, they always ask what you're researching and I've always struggled to give a clear answer. 3MT has been hugely helpful in helping me distill the essential parts of my research and how to communicate it clearly. It's also been really helpful in helping me explain my research to my family!
College: Science and Engineering
Title: Cognitive Training for Paediatric “Chemobrain"
My PhD aims to measure the cognitive impairment experienced by paediatric cancer survivors and use a novel cognitive training tool to rehabilitate these skills. My project aims to develop an intervention that not only improves cognition but is also enjoyable for the children who will use it. As a Biomedical Engineer, I believe that the usability and engagement of an intervention are critical to a design's function, particularly when working with children.
Participating in the 3MT has provided me with the opportunity to share my research with a general audience in a way that is not only understandable but engaging. These are critical skills that I will implement throughout my career. I’m also very grateful for the opportunity this has given me to highlight my research to a broader audience.
Testimonials from Past Finalists
2024 University Final Winner: Thomas Beltrame
College of Science and Engineering
“PhDs are complex, nuanced, and difficult to explain simply and succinctly, but that’s exactly what the 3MT will teach you to do. My PhD combines three rehabilitative elements into a single program which can be quite a mouthful to unpack. The 3MT taught me to identify the essence of my project, transform that information into a compelling narrative, and deliver it with confidence.
Moving through each round facilitated more opportunities to share my work with friends, family, colleagues, and a growing online network which helped to boost my profile as an emerging researcher. I participated in the competition twice as I identified how beneficial the learnings were and I encourage all PhD Candidates to challenge themselves and have a go too!“
2023 University Final Winner: Vinicius de Oliveira
College of Business, Government and Law
"PhD candidates due to conducting multilayered research and having to deal with an incredible amount of data, often are unable to summarize their PhD topic. The 3MT allows me to formulate a quick and direct answer to the most common and feared question ‘What’s your PhD on?’, providing an answer that finally satisfies both me and my parents, grandparents, neighbours, and people who pop the question but don’t hugely care for a meticulous answer. As a non-native English speaker, the 3MT also assisted me in developing my presentation skills and managing stage fright. I highly recommend to all HDR students to participate in this amazing competition!"
2022 University Final Winner: Siobhan Fitzpatrick
College of Medicine and Public Health
"The 3MT competition was a fantastic opportunity to really synthesise the overall message and purpose of my research. To translate a complex thesis topic into accessible language for a non-specialist audience was an exciting challenge to take on. It not only developed my communication and presentation skills in front of a live audience, but distilling the "message" of my research reminded me why I took on my PhD in the first place - to advocate for women's health and those living with post-partum rectus diastasis."
2021 University Final Winner: Chad Han
College of Nursing and Health Sciences
“So, what’s your PhD about?” is the most common question I get. The 3MT has given me an opportunity as well as challenge, to communicate my research to a wider non specialist audience. The interaction with other PhD students reminded me that while the journey is one undertaken independently, it is not a lonely one. The 3MT has also helped hone my presentation skills and is one of the most enjoyable experiences thus far in my PhD!''
2018 University Final Winner: Chelsea Mauch
College of Nursing and Health Sciences
“The 3 Minute Thesis competition was a timely and valuable experience that will remain one of the most memorable of my PhD. I was mid-candidature and waist deep in the first of three studies. The competition gave me the opportunity to return to the purpose of my project and develop a clear narrative. This focussed my writing and made the remaining stages of my PhD clearer, contributing to my first PhD publication and a successful seed grant application to fund my final study. The competition itself was thoroughly enjoyable, and taught me the value of conveying my research message in a way that is concise and connects with the audience on a personal level. I would highly recommend all PhD candidates take part at some stage during their candidature.”
2017 Runner-Up Finalist: Tiffany Knight
College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
"Participating in the 3 Minute Thesis has been one of the highlights of my PhD. Doctoral studies can be very lonely, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of information you have to process every day. The 3MT training sessions were a fun, relaxed opportunity to experiment with ideas and get a fresh perspective on my research. I discovered that I was part of a community of passionate scholars who were all doing amazing work in their respective fields. Condensing my research down to three minutes and finding engaging ways to explain its value to a non-specialist audience helped me to clarify my thinking and re-connect with my data in a new way. As this year’s trainer, I’m really excited to share what I’ve learned with you. So, I hope you’ll consider giving it a go. You might win some cash – you might even get to travel overseas representing Flinders University in the finals – but more importantly, by participating in the 3 Minute Thesis you will take the first step towards sharing your research with the world. And after all, as emerging researchers, isn’t that what we're all here for?”
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