Three Minute Thesis 2024
The average PhD thesis would take nine hours to present… in Three Minute Thesis, doctoral researchers have just three minutes!
The University of Birmingham final for Three Minute Thesis 2024 took place on 15 May in the Alan Walters Building, organised by the University Graduate School.
Three Minute Thesis is a research communication competition developed by the University of Queensland in 2008, in which doctoral researchers have just three minutes and one PowerPoint slide to deliver an engaging presentation on their thesis topic, its originality and its significance. The competition takes place all over the world, with our UoB winner going on to represent the University of Birmingham in the Vitae 3MT national finals and U21 3MT international finals. 
Our international group of ten University of Birmingham finalists came from all five Colleges, and presented online and in-person on their innovative and exciting doctoral research.
We heard about the portrayal of monstrous mothers in Medieval manuscripts, using Ammonia as fuel, preserving brick buildings, the experiences of the Rohingya people in Malaysia, innovations in medical education, and much more as our panel of academic judges made the difficult decision of who to crown our winner.
In fact, it was such a difficult decision that the judges decided to award an extra recognition to a second runner up!
Our Judges' Winners for 2024 are:
- Judges’ Winner (£500): Eileen Masters, College of Social Sciences, for ‘Audit Committees in English Local Councils: Paving the Way for Reform’
- Judges’ Runner Up (£250): Kanaeshvarr Devanand, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, for ‘Can DEM fix it? Yes DEM can’
- Judges’ Runner Up (£250): Natalie Williams, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, for ‘What's the Matter with Gravity?’
Congratulations to our winners! We’ll be sending our best wishes to Eileen as she competes in the national Vitae Three Minute Thesis finals in the coming months. 
Vote for your own Winner in the People’s Choice Award!
Want to have your say? You can watch recordings of all presenters on our YouTube Channel here, and vote for your favourite in our People’s Choice Award! The People’s Choice Award will award £250 to the presenter with the most public votes at our UGS Awards Ceremony as part of the Postgraduate Research Festival, 18-19 June 2024. Vote for your People’s Choice Winner here.
And if you’ve enjoyed hearing about the innovative and exciting research done by the University of Birmingham’s Postgraduate Researchers, why not come along to our Postgraduate Research Festival to hear more? Whether you’re a postgraduate researcher yourself, a postgraduate taught student, undergraduate or staff member, there is plenty to get involved with to hear about current research by our postgraduate community, and explore your own ideas. Learn more and book your place for the Postgraduate Research Festival, 18-19 June 2024.