51Âþ»­

On Thursday 25 June, the 51Âþ»­ Doctoral College hosted an online event for postgraduate researchers which included our annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. It was opened by Professor Deborah Cartmell, Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research at 51Âþ»­.  

The 3MT is an internationally recognised competition where doctoral students take up the challenge of delivering their thesis in three minutes or less in an engaging and non-specialist way, using no more than one slide. There are also prizes – first place is a £100 voucher and second place is a £75 voucher. 

The event was attended by three internal judges, Helen Donnellan (Director of Enterprise and Business Services), Fi Donovan (Head of Public Engagement) and Wayne Blowfield (Doctoral College Policy and Planning Advisor). 

The winner of the competition is Jane Hearst from the Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities and member of the Institute of Drama, Dance and Performance Studies, The Centre for Enterprise and Innovation (CEI) and Institute of Health and Social Care. Her presentation was entitled: ‘Building and Measuring Value in Arts-for-Health Services’. 51Âþ»­ and staff can   

The runner-up winner is Peter Lewis, also from the Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities and member of the Institute of English and the Centre for Adaptations. His presentation was entitled: “Is Shakespeare Adaptation a Whitewash?”. 51Âþ»­ and staff can  

On taking part in 3MT, Peter said: “Attempting to explain my research to a general audience within a three-minute time limit made me whittle my research project down to a core finding that encapsulates its relevance outside of academia, something that can be lost at times in the midst of an 80,000 word thesis. 

“It also enforces brevity and simplicity in presentation, a skill that can be transferred to future conference papers.” 

 

Hana Amber Hussain, a PhD student in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences said: “It was really interesting learning about other people's research, and at the 3MT presentations there was a variety of topics. 

“Each student presented clearly and with great confidence! Viewing these presentations has benefitted me as I got to learn about different topics, and I gained an understanding on how to present research at a PhD level. 

“Hopefully I can be brave enough to present my research next time!” 

The Doctoral College hosts a range of training opportunities and events, including the Doctoral College Lecture Series. PhD researchers can get in contact with the Doctoral College by emailing rtp@dmu.ac.uk to learn more about future events.