Three Minute Thesis Competition coming to UF

March 24, 2014

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Want to hear an 80,000 word thesis explained in less than three minutes?

Eleven doctoral students at the University of Florida will do so next week to determine who will win three awards and be eligible to represent UF in the regional Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition in the U.S., hosted through the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools next spring.  The winner receives $500; the runner-up, $350; and the people’s choice, $250.

This will be UF’s first 3MT competition, an academic research communication platform that challenges students to explain their research to a non-technical audience in just three minutes.  The competition was originally developed by the University of Queensland in 2008, and 3MT was quickly adopted by universities in the United States and in other countries.

Judges selected 11 graduate students from among more than 40 UF students from various disciplines who competed in preliminary rounds in mid-March. Students come from six colleges: education, engineering, medicine, liberal arts and sciences, agricultural and life sciences, and public health and health professions.

The finals will be held at 2 p.m. April 3 in the Reitz Student Union Auditorium. The free event is open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. To RSVP, go to http://bit.ly/1pf5CjD

The local event is sponsored by the Graduate School, the I-Cubed program and the Graduate Student Advisory Council (GSAC).

For more information, visit http://ogmp.graduateschool.ufl.edu/3MT.aspx