Terms and Conditions

Origin of the 3MT® Competition

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a research communication competition that was developed by the University of Queensland, Australia, in 2008. Since 2011, 3MT® competitions have grown significantly in popularity and have now been held at over 170 universities across 17 countries worldwide. 3MT® was originally devised to enable PhD students to have just three minutes, to tell a non-specialist audience, about their research thesis and results. The rules are simple; presenters can only use one PowerPoint slide. The idea behind this limitation is to encourage researchers to summarise and clarify the background of their research, salient hypotheses, and present their findings to a non-specialist audience in an intelligent and engaging way. At this 2022 Researcher Summit event, the 3MT® the ‘thesis’ focus has a ‘project’ focus for UEA research staff. A project can be a broadly defined as any area of research; inclusive of those that involve innovation and/or enterprise inclusive of researchers who have led unique teaching or outreach initiatives or even provided a unique service within their School.

The UEA 3MT® and 2022 Researcher Summit is an annual event (first held, January 2019). The event is co-organised by Professor Fiona Lettice, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research & Innovation (PVC R&I), the Organisational Development Service (ODS) and the Postgraduate Research Service (PGR).

NB: The deadline for PGR 3MT submissions is Wednesday 20 April 2022. The deadline for RA/SRA 3MT submissions is Tuesday 14 June 2022.

3MT® Speaker Competition Rules

1. Only one static PowerPoint slide is permitted.

2. No slide animations or 'movement' of any type are permitted. The slide must be presented at the beginning of the presentation.

3. No additional media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted.

4. No additional ‘props’ (e.g. laboratory equipment, handouts etc.) are permitted.

5. The presentations are strictly limited to 3 minutes. Competitors that exceed the 3 minute limit deadline are automatically disqualified. (A digital clock will be visible to both the audience and presenter to assist on the day).

6. Presentations must only consist of the spoken word (i.e. no poems, songs, raps etc. are permitted).

7. The timing of the presentation will be considered to have commenced once the presenter starts their presentation through either movement or speech.

8. The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.

9. Prizes and Awards will be presented on the day of the Researcher Summit by Professor Fiona Lettice, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Research & Innovation (please refer to the Programme Schedule page for when this will occur). Prizes consist (to the value of); First Prize: £150, Second Prize: £100, Third Prize: £50. NB: RA/SRA 3MT Winners will need to provide a charge code so that the Finance Planning & Governance Division can then transfer the funds. *RA/SRA winners will be asked if they can spend their prize monies by by 31 July 2022 (due to it being the end of the academic financial year). However, if this is not possible, then please note, that winners will also be given the opportunity to spend their winnings in the next academic financial year. Winners should liaise with their school professional services colleagues to arrange any spending. **PGR 3MT prize winners will receive Amazon vouchers.

10. There will be a set limit to the number of 16 Speakers (RAs and PGRs) who will be presenting on the day. Submissions to present can be made by the sending the title of your presentation via email to l.worrall@uea.ac.uk. All submissions will be published on this website.

11. RA/SRA submissions are open from Monday 13 December 2021 to Tuesday 14 June 2022. For PGRs, the deadline for submissions is Wednesday 20 April.

12. All speakers that have been chosen to present at the Researcher Summit will be published on this website by Tuesday 14 June 2022.

13. The particular presenter/title chosen may be weighted by a need to ensure that the Researcher Summit contains as broad a representation of Schools as possible at the event.

14. Guidance and advice for 3MT® presenters can be accessed here.

15. The Judging Criteria that will be used by the Researcher Summit 3MT Judging Panel (on the day of the event) to choose the winners of the 3MT® competition and the standard rubric Vitae 3MT judging form that the panel will be using can be viewed here.

16. The PVC R& I and Associate PVC for UEA Doctoral College, reserve the right to provide additional Awards for exceptional research performance.

*17. Full details of the PGR 3MT competition rules will be advertised shortly.

18. All decisions are final.

Special Merit in Research Award - Process & Rules

1. The winners of this Award (Research Staff): 1 per Faculty, (except SCI, who will have 2 Awards due to its greater size and larger number of researchers), resulting in 5 Awards. Winners of this Award (PGRs): 1 per Faculty, (except SCI, who will have 2 Awards due to its greater size and larger number of researchers), resulting in 5 Awards. The overall total of all Awards will therefore will equal 10 Awards. The prize awarded to each winner will consist of a specially engraved glass Award. All nominees will be judged by either the Associate Deans of Research (ADRs), Faculty PVCs (or other senior representative; nominated by the aforementioned). ADRs and/or Faculty PVCs will only receive nominations from, and be able to judge the winner(s) of, their own specific Faculty. Eligible nominations received via this website will be emailed to the relevant judges via ODS.

2. Anonymous nominations will not be accepted. To ensure that your nomination is accepted, please ensure that you can be identified by providing your full name and UEA Staff email address when completing the online application for the Special Award. Your nominee can be either a member UEA Research & Analogous Staff or a Postgraduate Researcher (PGR).

3. Applicants are only allowed to nominate one individual. Multiple entries and nominations by the same applicant will be deleted from the system.

4. RAs/SRAs and PGRs are permitted to nominate (and be nominated), be considered to receive the Special Merit in Research Award (although please note they they are not eligible to be nominated themselves for receipt of this Award).

5. ADRs are able to submit a nomination, but they are ineligible to be considered as a nominee for the receipt of the Special Award.

8. Submissions are open from Monday 13 December 2021 and close on Tuesday 14 June 2022.

Vote now for your nominee to receive a Special Merit in Research Award.