Aarhus University proudly presents its annual 3MT Competition, where PhD candidates captivate audiences with three-minute presentations, accompanied by a single slide. It's a platform for effective research communication. The 2025 event will take place on 19 March. For more details, delve into the competition below.
Every year, Aarhus University invites its PhD students to participate in the 3 Minute Thesis competition (3MT). In 2025, the competition will be held in Stakladen at Aarhus University on 19 March.
In 3MT, PhD students present their research project in three minutes for an audience of non-specialists with only one static slide – and no other resources. To prepare the participating PhD students for this challenging exercise, the PhD students are taken through a communication workshop, feedback session and practice session before the competition.
A internal AU jury will announce the internal AU winner based on the judging criteria mentioned in the Coimbra Group Call below.
The video of the performance of the internal AU winner will be submitted to the international competition held by the Coimbra Group of more than 35 European universities. A Coimbra Group panel will then select the top three candidates, who will be invited to present at the Coimbra Group annual conference. In 2025, the 3MT international competition will be held on 12 June at the University of Bologna.
The 3MT was founded at University of Queensland, Australia in 2008 and is held at over 900 universities across more than 85 countries.
Improve your skills in academic communication is part of your education as a PhD student at Aarhus University. Naturally, you get quite a lot of training through teaching, but you can improve your skills in academic communication in many other ways – including competing in 3MT!
As a participant in 3MT, you receive training and education in communication, presentation techniques, voice control, body language and practice techniques: everything you need to build and deliver a strong presentation.
As a researcher, you are of course interested in others being able to understand your research, and so it’s important that you can communicate your research expertise and findings clearly. Regardless of whether you want to continue your career path within academia or a completely different path after your PhD, it’s essential to be able to present your work clearly to a wide audience.
You should apply to become part of the 3MT 2025 team if you want to become a more effective communicator and learn new tools and techniques to communicate clearly and persuasively.
In addition to valuable communication experience and training, the winner of the 3MT competition at AU will also receive a travel stipend of DKK 35,000 and the opportunity to become one of the three finalists among 35 participating universities who will take part in the European Coimbra final, which will be held on 12 June 2025 at the University of Bologna.
To be part of the 3MT competition at Aarhus University, please express your interest and apply here: www.events.au.dk/3mt2025.
Registration opens: 4 November 2024.
Deadline for submissions: 28 January 2025.
To apply you must:
Please note that the submission of your project description and motivation to join is merely an expression of interest and an application to participate in the 3MT competition. It will not automatically grant you a place in the 3MT competition.
After the deadline for submissions on 28 January 2025, all applicants will be notified of whether they have been selected to participate in the competition. If the applications exceed the number of available spots at the workshop, we aim at having the widest possible representation from all faculties at AU. You will be notified if you application has been accepted within a week after the deadline.
All participating PhD students will be attenting a mandatory workshop and feedback session before the final competition on 19 March.
Workshop – 6 February 2025, 13.00-17.00
Course in rhetoric, body language, voice control and specific 3MT delivery skills. Participation in the workshop is mandatory.
Feedback session – 26 Februay 2025, 12.00-16.00
After the initial workshop, you will have the opportunity to run through your performance in front of the workshop teacher and receive feedback before the competition. Participation is mandatory.
Practice session – 10 March 2025, 13.00-16.00
A week after the feedback session, you will have the opportunity to run through your performance in front of the other contestants and the organisers of the 3MT competition - one final run through on stage before the 3MT competition. At this point, it's all about the minor details and adjustments. Participation in the practice session is voluntary.
3MT Competition at Aarhus University – 19 March 2025, 16.00-18.30
The final event will be held in Stakladen at Aarhus University. All presentations will be live, and a panel of judges will evaluate the performances and select the winner. Audience members will help choose the people’s choice winner. All performances will be recorded and will be made available on this website after the event.
Meet Omeed Neghabat and Anne Lundahl Mauritsen - two former contestants in the 3MT Competition. Among other things, they for example learned how to structure and deliver a presentation in one coherent connection. Watch the two videos below and learn more!
