Short but compelling
Three Minute Thesis (3MT) challenges HDR students to consolidate ideas and research discoveries in layman terms.
An entire thesis would probably take hours to present. In order to cultivate students’ academic, presentation and research communication skills, the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition was developed. Originating from Queensland, 3MT challenges Higher Degree Research (HDR) students to present a compelling oration on their thesis and its significance in just three minutes.
Students are challenged to consolidate their ideas and research discoveries, in a single static PowerPoint slide, to be presented to a non-specialist audience. No props and electronic media are allowed during the presentation, and competitors exceeding the stipulated time frame of three minutes are disqualified.
“Monash University is one of the best research universities in Malaysia and 3MT has always been a very interesting event in our University. It is probably one of the best avenues to finding out what a high-impact research is about in laymen terms,” shared Dr Kuang Ye Chow, Senior Lecturer and Associate Head of School (Research Training) at the School of Engineering, as he welcomed the participants.
Shafiq Asnawi Zainal Abidin from the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences clinched first place, by winning over the judges and audience with his engaging, yet simple explanation on snake venom and its anti-cancer properties. Shafiq will go on to represent Monash Malaysia at the Monash University 3MT final in Australia, for the opportunity to compete in the Trans-Tasman 3MT final at the University of Queensland.
Coming in second with his research on wearable technology to help the visually-impaired navigate was Leong Kuan Yew from the School of Information Technology. Felicia Lim Phei Lin from the School of Pharmacy came in third with her oration on caffeine belonging to the purine family. The People’s Choice award went to Chai Jing Yun from the School of Science, who began her presentation with a sneeze, capturing the audience’s attention. Chai spoke on the traitorous heat shock protein that enables virus replication in the body.
The judging panel included Professor Leong Choon Heng, Sunway University’s Centre of Higher Education Research; Associate Professor Motoki Watabe, School of Business; and Joanne Sweeney, Library Learning and Commons.