2023 Virtual Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition

The 2023 Asia-Pacific Three Minute Thesis Competition will be held as a virtual event (video submission).

The 3MT competition allows Higher Degree by Research candidates to hone their communication skills, receive international peer review, and gain skills surrounding the presentation of their research to a wider audience. The UQ 3MT Team is dedicated to providing all the assistance and support it can to the 3MT community.

The 2023 Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition Final will be held on Wednesday 18 October and will bring together video submissions from university 3MT finalists from across Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, North-East Asia and South-East Asia.

Asia-Pacific 3MT University Registration

The 2023 Asia-Pacific 3MT competition will be hosted virtually by UQ and is open to Universities in Australia, New Zealand, South-East and North-East Asia.

Universities from the eligible regions are invited to send their Institution’s 3MT winner's video for consideration in the Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition.

Only one competitor per registered University is eligible to compete. Registered Universities are required to complete their 2023 competition and confirm their representative's details (video submission) with us by Friday 15 September.

Participating universities agree to:

Provide the $220 (incl GST) registration fee required for the 2023 Virtual Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition.
Ensure competitors meet the eligibility criteria and adhere to the 3MT rules.
Provide UQ with competitors recorded 3MT presentation Vimeo link, PowerPoint slide, contact details, photography waiver by Friday 15 September 2023.
Conduct the 3MT^® competition as outlined in all materials provided by The University of Queensland.

Registration are now open. Please contact the 3MT team at 3MT@uq.edu.au if you are an eligible Institution and have not received the registration and payment details.

Asia-Pacific 3MT Key Dates

Key Dates for the 2023 Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition

NOW - Keep in touch - Like 3MT on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
Early March - Asia-Pacific 3MT University Registration opens
Friday 28 July - Asia-Pacific 3MT University Registration closes
Friday 15 September - Asia-Pacific 3MT Competitor Video Submission Deadline
September/October - Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition
- Monday 25 September - Asia-Pacific 3MT Semi-Final Showcase
  - Online Showcase published on the 3MT website
- Monday 9 October - Asia-Pacific 3MT Final Showcase
  - Finalists announced / Online Showcase published on the 3MT website
- Wednesday 18 October - Asia-Pacific 3MT Final
  - Video Viewing / Meet the Finalist Q&A / People Choice Vote / Announcement of Winners (Zoom Webinar)

Asia-Pacific 3MT Semi-Final

The 2023 Asia-Pacific 3MT Semi-Final will will showcase the video submissions from the 3MT finalists from across Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, North-East Asia and South-East Asia. The showcase will be launched on the 3MT website.

Asia-Pacific 3MT Semi-Final Showcase
Date: Monday 25 September 2023
Event Format: Online Showcase on 3MT website

There will also be a People's Choice component to the Semi-Final competition where the general public will be able to vote for their favourite competitior via a poll on the 3MT website. The winner of the People's Choice will also progress to the Asia-Pacific Final competition as the wildcard entrant (alongside with the 8 competitors chosen by the judging panels).

Asia-Pacific 3MT Final

The 2023 Asia-Pacific 3MT Final will be held in October and will bring together the video submissions from the eight 3MT finalists from selected by the judging panels from the Semi-Finals and the wildcard entrant (the winner of the Semi-Final people's choice).

Asia-Pacific 3MT Final Showcase - Finalists Announced
Date: Monday 9 October 2023
Event Format: Online Showcase on 3MT website

Asia-Pacific 3MT Final - Livestream
Date: Wednesday 18 October 2023
Time: 2pm - 3:30pm (AEST)
Event Format: Video Viewing / Meet the Finalist Q&A / People Choice Vote / Announcement of Winners (Live webcast)

Asia-Pacific 3MT Eligibility

Eligibility

Active PhD and Professional Doctorate Research (program composed of at least 2/3 research and eligible for RTP) candidates who have successfully passed their confirmation milestone (including candidates whose thesis is under submission) by the date of their first virtual presentation are eligible to participate in 3MT competitions at all levels, including the Asia-Pacific 3MT competition. Graduates are not eligible.

Please Note: Students enrolled in any of the following programs are not eligible to enter the Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition:

Masters (MPhil and coursework);
Professional Doctorate (less than 2/3 research)

Asia-Pacific 3MT University Video Submission

Video Creation and Submission - Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition
Registered universities participating in the 2023 Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition are required to follow the guidelines for video creation and submission.

3MT video recording competitor guide

Examples of the video recordings are below:

All participating universities are required to email 3MT with the following information by Friday 15 September - Asia-Pacific 3MT Video Submission Deadline. Please feel free to email this information to 3MT earlier if you can.

Completed 3MT Participant Contact Details Template
Competitors 3MT PowerPoint slide; and
Competitors 3MT Vimeo link;
Competitors Head Shot; and
UQ Photography/Video Waiver

Video Creation and Submission - University Level Competition

In order to take part in a virtual 3MT competition each participating institution will hold its own internal 3MT competition to select a winner (live or virtual). The key requirement for each university winner/entry into the Asia-Pacific 3MT will be that students must pre-record their presentation for consideration by the judges. This will ensure participants are not disadvantaged due to technical issues during a presentation. Institutions are free to decide the format of their local competition (live or virtual), within the rules set by The University of Queensland - an example structure of a simple virtual competition is outlined below. We have also put together a number of resources to help you with your planning for a virtual event.

Competitors record and edit their 3MT presentations (using any available recording or mobile device) and upload to a Vimeo account (competitors to set up a personal Vimeo account) and provide the presentation link to their university 3MT Event Corodinator for consideration in their university 3MT competition (School/Faculty/University).
Universities to upload competitors 3MT video to their univeristy website (or similar) for audience viewing.
Universities to email 3MT video links and 3MT PowerPoint presentations to judging panel.
Judging panel review all videos (mark using 3MT scoring sheets) and conduct a Zoom meeting to discuss judging and final placement of winners – Winner / Runner-up.
People’s Choice element (you could consider using Facebook/Vimeo likes or a Survey Monkey poll)
Winners announced online during a webinar or online via newsletter/social media.

Please note: Ensure you instruct the judging panel that they must not judge the presentation based on the video/recording quality or editing capabilities (optional inclusions). Judging should focus on the presentation, ability to communicate research to a non-specialist audience, and 3MT PowerPoint slide.

Competition Rules (for virtual 3MT)

Modifications to the 3MT rules have been made to accommodate the new virtual format.

Presentations are limited to 3 minutes and competitors exceeding 3 minutes are disqualified.
Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts their presentation through speech (timing does not include the 3MT title slide and commences from when the competitor starts speaking, not the start of the video).
Videos must meet the following criteria:
- Filmed on the horizontal;
- Filmed on a plain background;
- Filmed from a static position;
- Filmed from one camera angle;
- Contain a 3MT title slide;
- Contain a 3MT PowerPoint slide (top right corner/right side/cut to)
A single static slide is permitted in the presentation (no slide transitions, animations or ‘movement’ of any description). This can be visible continuously, or ‘cut to’ (as many times as you like) for a maximum of 1 minute.
The 3 minute audio must be continuous – no sound edits or breaks.
No additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment and animated backgrounds) are permitted within the recording. Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps or songs).
No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted within the video recording.
The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.
Submissions via video format (only video link provided to Event Coordinators). Files sent in other formats will not be accepted.
Entries submitted for final adjudication to Wildcard or University Final are to be submitted from the School/ Faculty/Institute 3MT Event Coordinator. Competitors should not submit their videos directly to 3MT.

Please note: competitors *will not* be judged on video/ recording quality or editing capabilities (optional
inclusions). Judging will focus on the presentation, ability to communicate research to a non-specialist audience, and 3MT PowerPoint slide.

Please note: After each competition round competitors have the option to either submit their current presentation or rerecord and submit a new presentation for entry into the next round.