Winners of postgraduate presentation competition announced

The two winners of a competition that challenged postgraduate students to present their research in just three minutes have been announced.

On Wednesday 31 of May, fifteen current postgraduate students took part in the 3 Minute Thesis competition to present their research in front of a crowd comprised of staff, fellow students, and a panel of judges.

Their aim was to distil their research into just three minutes, justifying its need to be studied, the methods by which the research was undertaken, and the conclusions they had drawn. All the while, making sure their talk was accessible for an audience comprised of a wide range of disciplines.

With only one slide to refer to, the participants had to ensure their talk was as engaging as possible, relying on their ability to communicate their research and coherently explain all its aspects as succinctly as possible.

Following much deliberation from the judges, two winners were chosen:

• Khalida Azhigulova from the Leicester Law School who spoke on the subject of: “Should refugees have a right to choose a country of asylum?”
• And Ashild Brekke from the School of Museum Studies, with her talk on “Reluctant superheroes? A qualitative study of museums, project funding and the art of exiting the phonebox.”

Each participant was judged by a panel of five, each marking the presentations in accordance to the guidelines set out by Vitae.

Judge Professor Helen Atkinson said of the competition: “Explaining any research in a crisp accessible way is a great skill. The 3 Minute Thesis competition gives PhD students a great opportunity in gaining experience with this challenge.”

The panel consisted of: last year’s winner, Sameer Kurmani; the Graduate Dean, Professor Helen Atkinson; Head of Researcher Development, Dr Meera Warrier; and two external judges—Vicky Williams, CEO of Research Media; and Naomi Fowler a global media journalist.

Our two finalists will now record a video of their 3 minute presentation, with the judges favourite to be put forward to the national Semi-Finals of the 3 Minute Thesis competition, with a chance to compete live at the finals.