2025 3MT® Schedule
Showcase your presentation skills in the 3MT virtual preliminaries. Impress a panel of judges, including professional communicators, with your top-tier presentation. The best presentations will advance to the in-person finals to compete for cash prizes and a chance to represent USask at the Western Regionals.
Deadline: March 10
You have delivered a clear, concise, and engaging virtual presentation with confidence and empathy. Your compelling research story left the judging panel wanting more! Now is your opportunity to win cash prizes and earn a spot to represent USask at the Western Regional competition.
Quance Theatre
April 17, 2025 |Doors open @ 2PM
Bringing together first-place 3MT competitors from universities across Western Canada, this competition extends your network of colleagues. It is an opportunity to showcase your hard work in a compelling format and potentially advance to the National Showcase.
@ The University of Victoria
May 6, 2025
The 3MT National Showcase, hosted by the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) brings together regional finalists from Western, Ontario, and Eastern Canada, providing a platform to highlight graduate student research and exceptional communication skills.
@ the CAGS Conference
Ottawa ON | November 2025
Roll up your WHY
You have 3 minutes to paint the picture of the problems you're tackling. Make it vivid and engaging so non-research people grasp why your work is amazing. Wrap things up by circling back to this point, giving them a glimpse into the future and a better world because of your amazing research. Remember, it's all about telling a compelling story!
Lose the DETAILS
No research topic is too boring or obscure for 3MT! The fun challenge of this competition is to find what makes your work fascinating and share it in a clear, engaging way. Think...broad, relatable ideas, and gradually introduce accessible specifics. Your goal is to make your audience smarter and more excited about your research.
The SLIDE is a trap
The PowerPoint slide has long been the downfall of 3MT competitors because it plays upon the most basic instinct of the researcher: the desire to convey complex technical information in PowerPoint form. You must resist this urge. Use your slide only to set the tone. It's a prop, not a research poster!
The Three Minute Thesis ® (3MT) competition is an annual event held at over 200 universities, including USask. Open to thesis-based graduate students, the challenge is to present your research in an engaging way for a lay audience in just three minutes and one static slide.
80,000. That’s how many words are in a typical PhD thesis—years of grueling research and history-making breakthroughs. Presenting something of this scale would take approximately nine hours. 3MT competitors do it in 3 minutes.
History of 3MT®
The first 3MT was held at the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2008 with 160 students competing. Enthusiasm for the 3MT concept grew and its adoption by numerous universities led to the development of an international competition in 2010.
For nearly ten years, the Graduate Student Association was USask's 3MT host, sponsored in part by the College of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (CGPS). CGPS assumed all responsibility for the 3MT in 2022.
CGPS was the Western Canadian Finals host in 2017 and 2023 and saw one of their standout competitors, Antonia Powell, rise above the rest to claim victory and advance to the Canadian Nationals.
What can dogs teach us about skin cancer? How does TikTok change the way we look at mental illness? Can access to traditional land protect Indigenous stories?
3MT Finalists delivered a clear, concise, and engaging virtual presentation with confidence and empathy. Their compelling research story left the judging panel wanting more! Now is their opportunity to win cash prizes and a spot to represent USask at the Western Regional competition.
Meet the 3MT® Finalists
Judging the 3MT finals is no small feat. It’s a tough job that requires careful deliberation, keen listening, and a deep understanding of the nuances that make an academic presentation truly extraordinary.
Meet USask's 3MT® Finals Judges
Chelsea Cunningham, PhD
Program and Engagement Manager at Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation
USask Alum, Health Sciences
Bram Noble, PhD
Professor, Department of Geography & Planning, Vice Dean Research, College of Arts & Science, and Editor in Chief of Environmental Management
Born in Baie Verte, Newfoundland, I hold a Ph.D. in Geography from Memorial University of Newfoundland, specializing in environmental assessment. I am a Professor (Geography & Planning) and Vice Dean Research (College of Arts & Science) at USask, where my work focuses on environmental assessment, resource policy, and renewable energy systems for northern and Indigenous communities. I co-direct the CASES partnership, an international initiative promoting sustainable energy solutions, and actively consult on environmental assessment for First Nations, industry, and government bodies. Additionally, I serve as Editor-in-Chief for Environmental Management and contribute to other leading journals.
Joelena Leader, PhD
Assistant Professor and Managing Director of BRIDGE Knowledge Centre at the Edwards School of Business
USask Alum, Interdisciplinary Studies
My research is distinctly interdisciplinary, rooted in qualitative methodologies to explore the complex interplay between technology, society, organizations, and communities. I emphasize community perspectives and participatory/user-centered design, focused on the social impacts of technology on work, organizations, and communities. I employ Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) to identify organizational and community challenges to advocate that technological innovations align with community needs and values.
Prelim Round
Thank you, competitors, for participating in the 2025 3MT® Prelim Round!
The preliminary rounds are closed to create a safe and supportive environment for all participants. Competitors can focus on refining their presentation without public scrutiny and gain valuable insight from a panel of communication experts, helping all participants to develop their unique 3MT style.
Crafting a 3MT presentation is challenging. Not only do you have to beat the clock, but you also need to design a slide that complements your talk and make your research understandable to a non-specialist audience.
Meet the Prelim Judging Panel
Communications Strategist
USask Health Sciences
I'm a curious and empathetic audience advocate with over 14 years of experience in tailoring communication strategies and promotional opportunities into rewarding experiences for my audiences, my team, and my employer. I do this by applying a unique appreciation for the interplay of copy, design, context, and a strongly informed concept. I feed my passion for creative problem solving and reputation building by supporting organizations that challenge their stakeholders to think critically or to better themselves and the world around them.
Master of Science student Marin Habbick earned the top spot at the 2024 USask 3MT competition, sending her to the Western Regional Finals at UBC Okanagan in May.
“The two big questions I asked myself that encouraged me to do the 3MT were: How well do I know my research? And can I beat the clock?”, said Habbick. The competition first sparked an interest for Habbick to improve her public-speaking skills and learn about what other graduate students are focused on at USask.
As a virologist pursuing her master’s degree in biochemistry, microbiology and immunology, Habbick’s research is highly technical, posing a great challenge when it comes to breaking the research into the basics for a lay audience. She removed the jargon and presented her research as an investigation into the “man cold”, and discussed how her research on human coronaviruses and sex hormones relate to men experiencing more severe symptoms when ill.
Communication Specialist
USask, University Relations | President and Provost Offices
Passionate about strategic story-telling and communications materials that celebrate successes, navigate challenges and build a better world. I enjoy building effective communications strategies that put the right content in front of the right audience at the right time.
I work to bring a unique and engaging voice to marketing and communications initiatives - from brand storytelling to corporate communications to exploring someone’s personal story. I enjoy exploring new avenues to leverage a social-first and digital-first content approach that will capture attention and resonate with others. When you only have seconds to inform your audience of your intention, using an efficient but innovative storytelling strategy is key, and my passion lies in this strategy building and content writing.
Competitors, have you read the fine print?
- All USask Master's and PhD thesis-based graduate students are eligible to participate.
- A student whose thesis is under submission on the date of their first competition is still eligible to compete.
- Presenters must register for the event and be able to present in person.
- One single static PowerPoint slide is permitted.
- No slide transitions, animations, or ‘movement’ of any description are permitted.
- Your slide is to be presented from the beginning of your oration.
- No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted.
Submitting a recording for the virtual 3MT competition? Follow these steps:
1. Submit a recording of you speaking (no slide) | one file
Filmed on the horizontal
Filmed on a plain background
Filmed from a static position
Filmed from one camera angle
MP4 video format is preferred. Instructions on how to submit your video file will be sent to you after you complete the registration form.
Send only 1 static slide using 16:9 .pptx format then convert that to a .jpeg.
Do not include a title slide
Include this file with your registration form
Our team puts the two files together (the recording and the slide) once submitted to ensure a standardized format for every entry.
- Presenters are allowed a single PowerPoint slide; no slide transitions, no animations or movement' of any kind, the slide is presented from the beginning and for the duration of the presentation.
- No additional electronic media (ex: sound or video files) are permitted.
- No additional props (ex: costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
- Presentations are limited to 3 minutes maximum; presentations running over 3 minutes will be disqualified.
- Presentations are limited to spoken word (ex: no poems, raps, or songs).
- Presentations are to commence from the stage (ex: no dramatic entrances).
- Presentations are considered to have commenced when the presenter starts their presentation through movement or speech.
- The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.
The competitors will be judged based on two criteria:
Comprehension and Content | Engagement and Communication |
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PreliminariesOur 3MT preliminaries are a low-pressure closed competition.
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FinalsEveryone at the finals gets a specially curated swag bag and a certificate of participation. |
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First Place $1500 Plus, you will represent USask (expenses paid by the College of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies) at the Western Regional competition. |
Second Place $750 |
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Third Place $500 |
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People's Choice $250 |
All competitors must complete these forms and include them with their registration details.
- Simon Clews (University of Melbourne) has prepared a helpful guide on preparing for the Three Minute Thesis Competition
- Jackie Amsden (Simon Fraser University) discusses how narrative frameworks can help grad students effectively tell their research story
- Matt Abrahams (Stanford University) provides Tips and Techniques for More Confident and Compelling Presentations
- Matt Abrahams (Stanford University) podcast Think Fast, Talk Smart: advice for impromptu speaking
- Anett Grant (Executive Speaking) addresses Six Pieces of Bad Speaking Advice That Just Won’t Die
- Inger Mewburn (RMIT University) developed How to Talk About Your Thesis in 3 Minutes
- Henry Miller (UT Health San Antonio) shares 11 Tips For The 3 Minute Thesis Competition
- At the high point, the 3MT Finals event page (2023) had 2.3K views and an event count (scrolls) on the page of 7.2K.
- The People’s Choice voting had over 2000 active hits with more than 919 actual votes placed from unique IP addresses.
- The live stream captured ~ 508 active watchers from across the globe. The heatmap below is a snapshot of where folks tuned in from.
Archives
"Participating in the 3MT competition was a transformative experience for me. It pushed me to distill my complex research into a concise and engaging presentation. The process not only improved my public speaking skills but also helped me gain a deeper understanding of my own work. The feedback from the judges and the audience was incredibly valuable, and it was inspiring to see the diverse range of research being conducted by my peers. I highly recommend the 3MT to any graduate student looking to enhance their communication skills and share their research with a broader audience."
"The 3MT competition was a fantastic opportunity to showcase my research in a unique and challenging format. Condensing years of work into a three-minute presentation was no easy task, but it taught me how to communicate my ideas clearly and effectively. The support and camaraderie among the participants were amazing, and I learned so much from watching others present their work. Winning the People's Choice Award was a highlight of my academic journey, and I am grateful for the experience. The 3MT is a must for any graduate student."
First Place
Second Place
Third Place
People's Choice
2023 |
USask Finals 1st Place: Narsimha Pujari 2nd Place: Shaheli Senanayake 3rd Place: Hemlata Gautam People's Choice: Michele Monroy-Valle |
2022 |
USask Finals 1st Place: Antonia Powell 2nd Place: Gaurav Malik 3rd Place: Tumpa Sarker Honourable Mention: Kaylie Krys |
2021 |
USask Finals 1st Place: Ahmad Karimi 2nd Place: Kayla Cropper 3rd Place: Alivia Mukherjee Honourable Mention: Ninu Kallingal Mohandas |
2020 |
USask Finals 1st Place: Shaunti Bergen 2nd Place: Farzad Dehghan 3rd Place: Christopher Mahadeo Honourable Mention: Edgar Martinez-Soberanes |
2019 |
USask Finals 1st Place: Farzad Dehghan 2nd Place: Miranda Zwiefelhofer 3rd Place: Nicholas A. Belliveau People’s Choice: Miranda Zwiefelhofer Honourable Mention: Alivia Mukherjee |
2018 |
USask Finals 1st Place: Roland Macana 2nd Place: Sajna Simon 3rd Place: Adesola Olufade Honourable Mentions:
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