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 2026
| June | Sign up for your local college heat. Your college will send you information |
| Late July to early August | Heat rounds are held in colleges |
| 7 and 14 July | 3MT presentation skills workshops. Register via links below |
| 26 August | RMIT Final at Storey Hall |
| 21 September | Asia-Pacific 3MT Semi-Final |
| 3 October | 3 October Asia-Pacific Final (with finalists announced) |
| 14 October | Asia-Pacific 3MT Final – Livestream |
RMIT final prizes
- Winner: $5,000
- Runner-up: $2,000
- People’s Choice Award: $1,000
- All other finalists: $250 recognition award
3MT training
Develop your skills at these workshops:
Part 1: Scripting your Three Minute Thesis
Date: Tuesday 7 July 2026
Presenter: Dr Katherine Firth
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 your Three Minute Thesis
Date: Tuesday 14 July 2026
Presenter: Dr Katherine Firth
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 2025 winners
Winner
Building Smarter Walls: Adapting Flood Defences to a Changing Climate
Bao Tan-Hoang Nguyen
School of Property, Construction and Project Management
College of Design and Social Context
Runner-up
Making pesticides safe with nano technology - How small things can change the world
Robert Mond
School of Engineering
STEM College
People's choice
Cutting-Edge Science, Literally: How Tiny Spikes Destroy Viruses
Samson Mah
School of Health & Biomedical Sciences
STEM College
