The clock is ticking – you’ve only got three minutes to tell an audience about your research.
Are you up for the challenge? What if I told you there was $6,000 in prize money up for grabs?
Throw your hat in the ring and sign up for UBCO’s twelfth annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition!
What is 3MT?
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a global academic competition started by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia in 2008. Since then, the competition has spread throughout universities across the globe.
The competition showcases students’ innovative research while helping students develop effective presentation and communication skills. Research-based master’s and doctoral students are challenged to present their research in a mere 180 seconds using just one static slide.
The judges look for clear language, a well-structured presentation that engages the audience, and a slide that is designed to support the speaker’s points.
How do I participate?
All UBC Okanagan graduate students in a thesis-based program are eligible to compete in 3MT at UBC Okanagan.
Students compete against others from their Faculty in qualifying heats. The winners from each faculty then advance to the UBC Okanagan final event. Details about the Faculty heats can be found below.
The winner of the UBC Okanagan final qualifies to move on to the Western Regional competition.
The next competition will be held on April 9, 2025.
why participate?
Prepare your elevator pitch: Whether it’s for a job interview, or explaining to your relatives at the dinner table, being able to concisely explain your research will help you throughout your studies and into your future career.
Develop important skills: 3MT provides you with the opportunity to develop effective presentation and communication skills.
Win prize money: $6,000 dollars in prize money is up for grabs with first place taking home $3,000, $2,000 for the runner-up, and $1,000 for the alumni UBC People’s Choice award.
Gain exposure in the community: The 3MT Final is an opportunity for you to showcase your research to a broad public audience, gain exposure, and build connections with the community.
Participant testimonials
Pawanjit Kaur Sandhu, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, 2024 Winner
My 3MT journey was fun and a great learning experience. To condense my complex research into three minutes for a non-specialist audience enabled me to look at my research in a broader perspective and its significance to the general public. The feedback from the judges and audience improved my communication skills and confidence in presenting myself. Further, listening to wide variety of amazing research conducted at UBCO and in universities across Western Canada was so rewarding and I made so many friends along the way. Ten out of ten experience – I highly recommend all graduate students participate in 3MT.
Saba Saleem, Engineering, 2024 Runner-Up
Participating in the 3 Minute Thesis competition was an invigorating challenge that pushed me to distill years of research into a concise and engaging presentation. Despite the time constraints, I found the experience incredibly rewarding as it honed my communication skills and clarified the significance of my work on sustainable kidney care services. Presenting to a diverse audience sparked meaningful discussions and provided valuable feedback, enriching my journey as a researcher committed to driving positive change in healthcare.
Kyla Coates, Kinesiology, 2024 alumni UBC People's Choice Winner
When I look back at the end of my PhD, 3MT will certainly be one of the highlights. It was unlike any other scientific presentation I have given, or may ever give again. To perfectly memorize a three-minute script seemed impossible at first, but turned out to be possible with A LOT of practice. To then turn it into an engaging performance was very challenging but also turned out to be possible with A LOT of practice. It ended up being a very rewarding experience because of how challenging it was. I know having this experience under my belt will massively increase my confidence for all of my future presentations and public speaking events. I highly recommend that all graduate students take part, but don’t underestimate the preparation required to succeed!
Portiaa McGonigal, Biology, 2020 Winner
In doing 3MT, I gained a better appreciation for how I should portray my project even to a group of experts in the same field. Competing against other students with vastly different projects than mine was intimidating at first, but going through with it and being successful allowed me to prove to myself that I am capable of doing difficult things, and it gave me much more confidence coming out of the competition than I had going in. I would highly recommend students to participate in the 3MT Competition to not only push your boundaries as a student researcher and communicator but to also challenge yourself and build up your confidence in your abilities.
workshops
Get ready for 3MT by attending these workshops.
In the first part of the session, participants will learn the ins and outs of the 3MT competition, including the rules and judging criteria as well as the benefits of participating.
In the second part of the session, participants will learn the presentation techniques needed to be successful in the 3MT competition. Topics will include presentation skills, including voice modulation, body posture and gestures; how to engage the audience in your research through humour and story-telling; and memory techniques to avoid relying on notes.
January 20, 2025
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Online
Register
Learn about important copyright considerations for your 3MT presentation, such as image attributions, when, why and how to request permission, and where to find public domain images for your presentations.
January 22, 2025
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Online
Register
January 23, 2025
10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Online
Register
Following the practice session, come ask our Copyright Librarian any questions you have about copyright and your 3MT presentation.
January 29, 2025
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
LIB 111
Register
Practice makes perfect. Attend this session to practice your presentation and get feedback from our 3MT experts.
Use this practice session as an opportunity to try out ideas for your 3MT presentation – you can bring what you have prepared or share your slide/visuals to receive feedback from an interdisciplinary audience. Your presentation doesn’t have to be complete – you can share what you have at any stage of drafting your 3MT. Please be prepared to give some positive and constructive feedback for other presenters during the session.
January 29, 2025
12 p.m. – 2 p.m.
UNC 200
February 3, 2025
2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
UNC 200
Learn everything you need to know for a successful 3MT!
This course is online and self-paced.
| Faculty | Date | Time | Location | Contact |
| Creative & Critical Studies | February 11, 2025 | 10 a.m. | UNC 200 | Chantel Snyder (chantel.snyder@ubc.ca) |
| Science | February 11, 2025 | 2 p.m. | UNC 200 | Lindsay Odne (lindsay.odne@ubc.ca) |
| Health & Social Development | February 13, 2025 | 2 p.m. | UNC 200 | Brad Buie (brad.buie@ubc.ca) |
| Education & Management (combined heat) | February 17, 2025 | 11:59 p.m. submission deadline | Online | Lindsay Cox (lindsay.cox@ubc.ca) for Education or Dayl Hancock (dayl.hancock@ubc.ca) for Management |
| Engineering | February 19, 2025 | 9 a.m. | UNC 200 | Shannon Hohl (shannon.hohl@ubc.ca) |
| Arts & Social Sciences | February 19, 2025 | 5 p.m. | ADM 026 | Colin McKay (colin.mckay@ubc.ca) |
Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies (IGS) students: Please participate in the heat associated with your faculty supervisor.
UBC Okanagan 3MT Final 2025
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 | 5 p.m. | Mary Irwin Theatre
sponsors
Thank you to the Centre for Scholarly Communication, University Relations, and alumni UBC for sponsoring the 2025 UBCO 3MT Final!
Interested in sponsoring the UBCO 3MT 2025 Final? Please contact alicia.meehan@ubc.ca for more information.
2024 Participant videos
Western regional 3MT competition 2024
UBC Okanagan was excited to host the Western Regional 3MT® Competition on May 8, 2024. Our campus welcomed participants from across Western Canada who shared their research in three minutes using non-specialist language.