Winning words: USask researchers reach new heights in communication competitions

Conveying the impact of academic research and scholarly and artistic works to the public takes practice.

Throughout their studies, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows spend countless hours sifting through academic literature, conducting novel research, and speaking to other experts in their field.

Although their day-to-day activities may involve discussing their work at a high-level, when it comes time to pitch that work to funding agencies and explain it to the public, scholars need to describe their research in plain language as well. In the age of misinformation, the ability to discuss research in simple terms can build trust and make information more accessible for lay audiences.

Academic institutions, funding agencies, and other organizations have developed communication-focused competitions to challenge researchers around the world to practice presenting their research to the public. These competitions, such as the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition and Falling Walls prompt participants to remove jargon and to break down the impact of their research so that anyone can understand it — not just fellow academics.

This year, University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers across various disciplines have found success in communications competitions in 2024. Here they share how they approached the challenge.

Each fall, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) calls for postsecondary students to share how social sciences and humanities research affects Canadians, the world, and the future, in up to three minutes or 300 words. The SSHRC Storytellers Challenge inspires exceedingly creative submissions from across the country as competitors vie for a spot in the Final Five.

One USask PhD candidate, Olivia Abram, and her collaborator from the University of British Columbia, Leah Alfred-Olmedo, earned a top spot in the 2024 competition.

“We signed up for (the Storytellers Challenge) because we thought it would be an easy way to get our message out there and get people talking about it,” said Abram.

Over the past year, Abram and Alfred-Olmedo have been co-writing a chapter about collaboration from the perspective of grad students and early-career scholars for a book on Indigenous-led collaboration. Together, they worked on a video submission to the Storytellers Challenge that highlighted the importance of collaboration, while also challenging SSHRC to make collaboration easier within the competition.

“We really spoke to the idea that academia itself is a somewhat unfriendly place to these collaborative approaches,” said Alfred-Olmedo. “We pointed to the fact that SSHRC didn’t make (applying) easy for us, so it was a really good example of how hard it can be.”

For Abram and Alfred-Olmedo, the competition was an opportunity to challenge themselves as well as celebrate fellow scholars from across the country.

“We tried to reframe the Storytellers Challenge as a celebration of all entrants’ work rather than a competition, which created a community of support amongst the finalists. As a group we all came into the finals cheering for each other; we were competing against the Challenge rather than the other entrants,” said Abram and Alfred-Olmedo in a joint statement. “This illustrated for us how competition can become collaboration. All the entries this year left us excited about the work being done by scholars across the country, across different fields, who we hope to work with again someday.”

Abram and Alfred-Olmedo encourage graduate students studying social sciences and humanities to step outside their comfort zone and challenge themselves with the competition. “Just apply! Consider unconventional and creative approaches! Lean into your strengths – our final entry combined Leah’s experience in performance with Liv’s in digital design.”

Each year, in the annual 3MT competition, USask challenges thesis-based graduate students to present the entirety of their thesis in three minutes with the help of a single slide. The 3MT competition originated at the University of Queensland to challenge students to find ways to effectively explain their research to a non-specialist audience.

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.

“What I’ve realized is, you don’t speak to fellow experts as much as you think,” said Habbick. “I speak to my supervisor. I speak to fellow virologists at our weekly meetings. But, when it comes to grants, you don’t speak at the expert level. You have to be able to pare down your research.”

Since participating in the 3MT, Habbick better understands her own research and feels confident delivering an elevator pitch to various audiences: family, members of the media, funding agencies, and fellow scientists at conferences. To her, learning how to share her work with the public is a step toward building trust.

“There’s a lot of distrust (from the public) in the way research is being done, especially in the field I’m in,” said Habbick. “The ability to take away the jargon and explain what you’re doing is important because the average researcher wants the research to benefit humanity; but, if humanity doesn’t understand what you’re doing, then they aren’t going to care and might even be fearful.”

USask added another communications challenge to its growing list in 2024, with USask graduate students and postdoctoral fellows participating in the prestigious Falling Walls Lab competition for the first time.

Falling Walls Lab is a global interdisciplinary pitch competition for students and early-career professionals to showcase their ground-breaking work. Participants are tasked with bringing their innovative solutions to the world’s greatest challenges to the stage in only three minutes. The University of Alberta hosted a local Falling Walls Lab competition, with the winner moving on to the world stage in Berlin.

USask postdoctoral fellow Dr. Albin Joseph and PhD candidate Priyanka Tirumareddy advanced to the Falling Walls Lab Edmonton finals in September, when they each delivered a three-minute pitch to a panel of judges and the public.

Joseph is a postdoctoral fellow working with Dr. Carey J. Simonson (PhD, PEng) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering. His work focuses on indoor air quality and thermal comfort, leading him to develop his Falling Walls Labs pitch titled “Breaking the Walls of Unsustainable Ventilation.”  

For Joseph, the Fallings Walls Lab competition was an opportunity to spread the word about his research on energy exchangers.

“The words that caught my attention were ‘pitch your idea’. As I am also involved with Opus to establish a startup, I had been actively looking for pitch events to help promote my venture,” said Joseph.

Joseph developed his pitch with support from College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (CGPS) professional development specialist Dr. Kenisha Blair-Walcott (PhD) and the University Library learning specialist Dr. Yolanda Palmer Clark (PhD), going on to find success in the two-stage selection process and moving on as one of 15 participants in the Falling Walls Edmonton Labs finals.

“I view the Falling Walls Lab as a fantastic platform to expand my network and gain exposure in a global pitch event,” said Joseph. “Falling Walls is not just about showcasing our core research, but also about demonstrating the broader impact of that research and how many people can benefit from it.”

USask’s second finalist, Priyanka Tirumareddy, is a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Currently, she is conducting research under the supervision of Dr. Ajay K. Dalai (PhD, PEng), focusing on biofuels, leading to the development of her Falling Walls pitch titled “Breaking the Wall of Fossil Fuel Dependence”.

Entering the Falling Walls Lab competition was both exciting and nerve-wracking for Tirumareddy, but her past experiences in communication competitions helped her prepare for the challenge.

“I previously participated in the Engineering 3MT and USask 3MT competitions which helped me a lot in preparing for the Falling Walls interview,” said Tirumareddy.

As she advanced through the competition, Tirumareddy’s confidence grew, as she felt the impact and relevance of her work was validated by the judges.  

“Participating in three-minute pitch competitions like Falling Walls has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my academic journey,” said Tirumareddy. “It not only improved my public-speaking skills, but also reminded me of the broader impact research can have on society. For anyone considering entering, my advice is simple: Take the leap!”

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While 2024 marked a particularly successful year for USask scholars in communication competitions, CGPS is eager to see even more participation in the future.  

According to CGPS Dean Dr. Debby Burshtyn (PhD), the development of communications skills for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows may contribute to building public support in solving pressing world issues.

“The ability for our students and postdocs to communicate the importance of their research and creative work to a wide variety of audiences is key to creating public understanding and future-proofing societies,” said Burshtyn. “Not to mention, evidence-based policies and initiatives that are easy to understand can counter misinformation.

“As universities, we are stewards of public resources and communicating with the public is a core competency we want all our trainees to gain during their time at USask.”

For graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, engaging in local communication competitions sharpens their own understanding of their research and it provides a vital platform for sharing their work with the public.  

The 2025 USask 3MT competition is coming soon! Sign up for workshops to hone your skills in time for the competition at USask 3MT Competition.