Graduate students impress at Three Minute Thesis finals

The rules are quite simple: One take. One static slide. No props. Three minutes.

In a nutshell, that’s the challenge of Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) – an annual competition for graduate students at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) and other universities around the world.

A university graduate thesis is one of the most important requirements for earning a master’s degree or PhD. Its content puts forth fresh knowledge on an original topic and represents tireless investigation and inquiry.

A thesis sometimes takes years to complete. The final product is often the same length as a book: dozens, if not hundreds of pages long. With so much material packed into a thesis, imagine the challenge of packaging all of that information into an oral presentation of no more than three minutes in front of a panel of non-specialist judges.

After a series of rehearsals and training workshops for an original group of more than two dozen candidates, on March 23, UOIT’s 3MT® competition came down to a field of six finalists. When the dust settled, Master of Health Sciences candidate Megalai Thavakugathasalingam was named UOIT champion for her presentation on reconstructing the difficult experience of childhood cancer through the perspective of a young adult.

Thavakugathasalingam will represent the UOIT at the fourth-annual provincial 3MT® competition on Thursday, April 14 at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.

2016 UOIT 3MT® finalists

• Lauren Fridman**, Master of Arts (Education) candidate: Examining the impact of digital Infographics on literacy education for at-risk youth
• Lorraine Ma***, Master of Science (Modelling and Computational Science) candidate: 2D-3D image registration algorithms for cardiac MRI
• Shahrzad Pezhman, Master of Health Sciences (Kinesiology) candidate: Effect of gymnastics on children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Megalai Thavakugathasalingam*, Master of Health Sciences (Community Health) candidate: Reconstructing childhood cancer: A young adult’s experience
• Keri-Ellen Walcer, Master of Health Sciences (Kinesiology) candidate: Using music to motivate movement in children aged 4 to 6 with Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Hanyue Xu, Master of Applied Science (Electrical and Computer Engineering) candidate: Integration of bandpass filter with dielectric resonator antenna

* First place
** Second place
*** People’s Choice winner

Quotes

“Participating in 3MT has been an exciting and nervous experience, but truly enhanced the research environment of my master’s degree program. 3MT coincidentally gave me ‘three’ things. Often we become busy in completing our project and forget that we must also excel at communicating what we are doing and why it is important. Secondly, I was able to convey my passion for my project, which I have worked on for two years. 3MT has also provided the opportunity to explore: in hearing the other presentations and mingling with the judges, the program is a mini-exposure to how far research can extend, beyond the academic walls of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.”
-          Megalai Thavakugathasalingam, 2016 UOIT Three Minute Thesis first-place winner

“Three Minute Thesis is a huge test but also a remarkable opportunity for a graduate student. Distilling the most vital aspects of one’s research and sharing it in the form of a compelling story reflects a challenge most graduates will likely face at some point in the future. The ability to make research clear and concise is a tremendous skill to develop.”
-          Dr. Langis Roy, Dean, UOIT Office of Graduate Studies

“Covanta is delighted to extend its relationship with the University of Ontario Institute of Technology by participating as a judge in the Three Minute Thesis competition. The university is a valued community partner, and we believe that the graduate students at UOIT will add significant value to Ontario’s young workforce in the years to come.” 
-          Jennifer Baron, Business Manager, Covanta Durham York Renewable Energy

“We are proud of all 3MT® participants for demonstrating poise as they navigated the pressure of the competition. We are also grateful to the university’s community and research partners for helping us build the distinguished panel of judges. Each judge volunteered significant time to evaluate our students’ performances and innovative research in the heats and finals.”
-          Svetlana Novak, UOIT 3MT® organizer and Graduate Professional Development Co-ordinator, UOIT Office of Graduate Studies

The 3MT® competition was developed initially by the University of Queensland (Australia) in 2008. The competition has since spread internationally to include Canada.  

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