Similar to “Ted Talks,” each year students at over 200 institutions participate in a Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. Originally developed by the University of Queensland, the competition surrounds research communication, giving graduate students only three minutes to successfully articulate their research at a non-specialist level to a panel of judges. During their three minutes, students are allowed a single, static PowerPoint slide to serve as a visual guide.
The competition is open to any Masters or Doctoral student. While the title is Three Minute Thesis, students do not have to have a true thesis or dissertation to participate. Their 3MT submission can be on any original research they’ve conducted. Some students even present about contributions to their capstone project.
Participants compete in preliminary rounds over the course of two days with groups of judges from UI’s faculty and staff, previous winners, and the local community. From the preliminary rounds, a small number of students are selected as finalists who receive $250 and an invitation to compete in the final competition for additional cash prizes.
Finalists have another few weeks to rehearse and prepare to present for a new competition environment. They’ll be presenting for a new panel of judges, and, unlike the preliminary rounds, the final competition is open to the public. In recent years, UI has invited high school groups to come watch the competition, increasing their exposure to graduate studies and research.
There are three awards that finalists can win. The overall winner of the competition, decided by the judges, receives an additional $1,000 and funding to travel to the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools for the regional competition. The judges also select one honorable mention who will receive an additional $500. Finally, the audience selects its own “People’s Choice” winner who receives an additional $250.
UI hosted its first 3MT competition in 2016, and the program will be celebrating its 10th competition this year. Throughout the last eight years, UI has implemented a number of resources to help students prepare for the competition, including developing an ICON course with instructions and a series of workshops for preparation.
In celebration of the 10th anniversary, we caught up with a few previous finalists to see where they are now.
2019 Honorable Mention & People’s Choice – Mackenzie Rysted (Spicer)
In 2019, Mackenzie Rysted was a third-ear doctoral student in Molecular Medicine. Her 3MT submission, titled “Moving Forward in Movement Disorders: Discovering New Tools to Studying Parkinson’s Disease” focused on identifying the underlying mechanisms in Parkinson’s disease. Her lab and research focused on examining this in mouse models.
Rysted was a finalist in the 2019 competition where she received the Honorable Mention award from the judges and the People’s Choice award from the audience. After graduating in 2022, Rysted completed a year as a postdoctoral researcher in the same lab she worked in as a doctoral candidate. Since 20203, she has been working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine in the department of neurology.
2020 Winner & People’s Choice – Moala Bannavti
In 2020, Moala Bannavti was a doctoral student in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Her 3MT submission, titled “No More PCBs in School Air” focused on environmental justice through the remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in minority-predominant, low-income publics schools. PCBs, known colloquially as “forever chemicals,” can suppress the immune system, increasing the risk for several human diseases. They’ve been linked to skin lesions, cancer, breathing issues and neurotoxicity.
Bannavti was the winner of the 2020 competition, and she was also awarded a People’s Choice award. Since graduating from UI in 2023, Bannavti has been working as a postdoctoral fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She has continued her research on PCBs but has shifted her focus from airborne emissions to contaminated waterways.
2022 Winner – Riley Post
In 2022, Riley Post was a doctoral student in Civil Engineering. His 3MT submission “Can Little Ponds Fight Big Floods?” was focused on his work with the Iowa Flood Center on flood mitigation. His research focused mitigation through small ponds, rainfall uncertainty, and reservoir control.
Post was the winner of the 2022 competition. He graduated in February 2024 but finished the academic year as a postdoctoral scholar for the Iowa Flood Center. Since this summer, he has been working as a postdoctoral fellow at Standford University where he studies the effects of climate change on water affordability and supply system resiliency.
2023 People's Choice – Maaz Musa
Last year, Maaz Musa was a fifth-year doctoral student in Computer Science. His 3MT submission, titled "Unveiling the Digital Veil: Empowering Transparency and Accountability in Online Privacy," focused on online privacy and accountability concerns in a growing digital world. Musa was able to use machine learning analyze privacy policies for businesses.
Musa won the audience's People's Choice award in 2023. He was able to talk about his research with legislators at Hawkeye Caucus Day at the state capitol last spring. Since graduating in June, Musa has been with AccuCode AI where he currently works as a Privacy Engineer Intern.
Future competitions
Preliminary rounds for UI’s 2024 competition took place last week from October 10-11. Finalists for the November 7th competition will be announced soon on the Graduate College’s website. Students interested in competing in future years are encouraged to attend this year’s competition.