1st place winner Tanuja Rajah represented the School of Science.

The language of academia can sometimes be a challenge for non-specialists and the general public to fathom.

Recognising this, the Monash Research Graduate School organised a competition where Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students competed to deliver a research presentation – in everyday language.

“The competition hopes to develop students’ academic and research communication skills through sharing the importance and potential impact of their research to their colleagues and a broader community. At the same time, students learn about other research happenings at Monash,” the 3MT website read.

This was the first time the Sunway campus was participating in the transnational competition, initiated by Monash University Australia, with other Monash campuses.. One HDR student represented each School in the campus final after winning the School Round.

First place winner Tanuja Rajah said it took many hours of brainstorming with her husband and a friend to write “just three minutes worth of talk and more hours still of practice”.

“I tried to make my talk as interesting as possible while keeping it simple. That is easier said than done especially when you're trying to condense your research, which of course, is complicated,” said Tanuja, who presented on the regulation of human T cell activation and proliferation.

“I decided to structure my talk almost like a story with a theme - Make Love, Not War - running through it. I definitely believe that helped and the judges mentioned that as well,” she said.

Tanuja said that sometimes, when she got caught up in her research, she forgets that Science is supposed to be fun.

“Taking part in this competition was a last minute decision … but I have no regrets because it has reminded me to have fun with research and given me new zest for my work,” said Tanuja, who will participate in the final on August 16, and if successful, will compete in the transnational final (http://www.mrgs.monash.edu.au/seminars/3-minute-thesis/index.html for details).

Raymond Akawire Aborigo’s research on maternal mortality impressed the crowd. This second-place winner focused his presentation on interviewing skills that would lead to an auditing procedure to empower health systems and communities, thus, making pregnancies safer.

“My participation in the competition was not about winning, but about building skills in communicating difficult concepts to a lay audience in a very simple and straight forward manner,” he said, adding that since the competition, he felt more confident about talking about his work in a simple and concise manner.

When asked why he studied maternal health, Raymond said that pregnancy was celebrated by most families all over the world and should not be associated with death.

“The act of bringing life into the world should not end in the loss of life of the very giver. I know a lot of women who have died from pregnancy-related factors and I cannot afford to watch many more follow, especially when I can contribute towards providing the solutions to the problem.”

Raymond Akawire Aborigo, 2nd place winner from the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences.