Three Minute Thesis Competition

The competition

Present your doctoral research in just 3 minutes to a non-specialist audience, using just one static slide. The aim of this event is to help develop your academic presentation and research communication skills and to meet and network with students from all faculties.

This year the competition will be both live and virtual (for those unable to attend the day).

There will be live presentations and also recorded videos shown on the day.

If you decide to submit your presentation as a video, it can be prepared on your phone, tablet, PC and then uploaded to Panopto - instructions on how to do this will be given in due time.

What are the rules?

A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted. No slide transitions, animations or 'movement' of any description are allowed. The slide is to be presented from the beginning.
No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted.
No additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
Presentations are limited to 3 minutes maximum and competitors exceeding 3 minutes are disqualified.
Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps or songs).
Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts their presentation through either movement or speech.

How to register, help and deadlines

Once you complete the registration form, you will receive a:

link to the 3M Panopto folder if you have chosen to present a video
3M slide template
video explaining how to record in Panopto.

Important dates:

3MT Workshop Wednesday 6 May 2026: practical tips on how to present your research to a non-specialist audience from an experienced 3MT coach. To register for this workshop please complete the booking form.

Monday 25 May 2026 - Deadline for submitting your video (if you have selected that option).

Wednesday 3 June 2026 - All presentations live and recorded taking place from 11:00 at JHB 301. After the presentations are finished, the judges will gather and deliberate for prizes.

Prize ceremony and networking lunch will take place in JHB 302 from 13:15.

There are cash prizes for the winner, runner up and people's choice.

The winner will be sent to the Vitae 3MT competition, a UK-wide annual event.

If you prefer not to present at this time, but would like to support your peers, please join us on the day.

Useful resources

Past competitions

2025

Anneka Fisher (Winner)
Zeena Hicks (Runner up)
Amy Poole (People's choice)
Ruth Simpson (Special commendation)

2024

Roger Hiley (winner)
Madhusha Mendis (runner up)
Raabiah Yaacob (people's choice)

2023

Sophie Harris (winner)
Lucia Sagredo-Sanchez (runner up)
Ali Alsaied (people's choice)

2022

Sanjana Karnik (winner)
Luna Dou (runner up)
Amber Ridgway (runner up)
Mayuri Agrawal (people's choice)

History

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic competition developed by the University of Queensland, Australia in 2008. By 2011, there were more than 900 countries worldwide holding these competitions. In 2020, 3MT moved to a temporary virtual format due to COVID-19 and continued to be held around the world in either a virtual or a live format.

At Oxford Brookes University, we started holding 3MT competitions at Faculty level before COVID-19.

In 2022, we held a multi-faculty virtual competition with fourteen research students presenting their thesis in a 3 minute video. Since then we have continued running this event every year.