On 14^th July, I got the opportunity to attend The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) UK semi-final at the University of York. I had the chance to see 23 PhD-students showcase themselves in a three minute presentation, using one single static slide with no additional electronic media or props.The 3MT competition has its roots in Australia. It was developed by the University of Queensland as an academic competition and has been expanded to local and national competitions in several countries. The competition is open to doctoral candidates, within any discipline, who are working on an 80,000 word doctoral thesis.

The semi-final in York saw the winners from local institutions across the UK compete against each other. Six finalists would go through to the 2014 Final in Manchester, aiming to win the prize of £3,000 to spend on public engagement activity. A panel of judges scored the candidates up to a maximum of 30 points across the following criteria:

• The communication style: use of appropriate language for a non-specialist audience;
• The clarity of the presentation: helping the audience understand the research; and
• The engagement of the candidate: making the audience wanting to know more.

The unbridled enthusiasm with which each candidate presented their research was exceptional. I was highly impressed with the way that complex research was communicated to the audience in a clear, understandable and timely manner. I think a three minute presentation of one’s research, in a language that can be understood by researchers outside your discipline, is a good exercise, which researchers may benefit from. In the end, however, only six could go through to the Final. The judges concluded that modesty was the main pitfall. That said, statements of the potential impact of the research in one’s own field and beyond were highly valued.