An 80,000 word PhD thesis would take 9 hours to present. You have 3 minutes, and your time starts now
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is a competition that celebrates the exciting research conducted by Higher Degree by Research (HDR) candidates. The 3MT was developed by The University of Queensland (UQ) and is now a prestigious international event run by universities all over the world.
The 3MT challenges HDR candidates to present their research to a non-specialist audience in a clear and engaging way in under three minutes, with only one slide to support their presentation. 3MT cultivates HDR candidates’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills.
About the 3MT at RMIT
Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is a research communications competition that celebrates the exciting research being conducted by PhD students globally. The competition challenges competitors to explain their research to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes.
The first 3MT competition was held at The University of Queensland in 2008 and there were 160 competitors. Now, 3MT is held in more than 900 institutions and 85 countries across the world.
RMIT participates in 3MT each year and our winner represents us at the 3MT Asia-Pacific finals hosted by The University of Queensland.
Why compete?
- Develop your storytelling and live presenting skills
- Celebrate and showcase your research
- Raise your profile and connect with peers
- Win a great prize
Key dates 2025
| June | Sign up for your local college heat. Your college will send you information. |
| July / August | Heat rounds are held in colleges. |
| 20 August | RMIT Final at Kaleide Theatre. |
| 22 September | Asia-Pacific Semi-Final (Virtual Showcase). |
| 3 October | Asia-Pacific Final (with finalists announced). |
| 15 October | Asia-Pacific Final (Virtual Event). |
RMIT final prizes
- Winner: $3,500 research grant
- Runner-up: $1,000 research grant
- People’s Choice Award: $500 research grant
3MT training
Develop your skills at these workshops:
Part 1: Scripting the 3MT
Date: Tuesday 1 July 2025
Duration: 1 hour
Location: Online (MS Teams)
At this session you will learn how to:
- Write an authentic and engaging story
- Communicate your passion for your research
- Convey what problem your research solves
- Keep the audience engaged
Note: Registration is via the Research Plus platform. You will need to log in with your RMIT ID and password to access.
Part 2: Presenting Skills
Date: Tuesday 8 July
Duration: 1.5 hours
Location: Melbourne City campus and online via Microsoft Teams
At this workshop you will learn how to:
- Use your voice to engage the audience
- Slow down and breath
- Avoid stumbling over difficult words
- Convey enthusiasm and confidence using your body language
- Ensure you are technically prepared
Note: Registration is via the Research Plus platform. You will need to log in with your RMIT ID and password to access.
Eligibility
To be eligible to compete, you must:
- Be actively enrolled in your PhD throughout the competition and have successfully passed your confirmation
- You can participate in the college heats as a Masters by research candidate but are not permitted to participate in the final.
Rules and judging criteria
For full competition rules and judging criteria, please see the following resources on the University of Queensland website:
Our 2024 winners
Winner
Piece by Piece: Solving the Cerebral Puzzle
Mikaela Barresi
School of Health and Biomedical Sciences
STEM College
Runner-up
Breaking the Iron Cage: Framing, Designing and Implementing D&I Strategy
Parker Rettke
School of Management
College of Business and Law
