Morning 13 November 2024 – The Irish Universities Association (IUA) is today holding its annual Three Minute Thesis National Final. Competing for the national prize today are eight PhD Researchers, each the winner in their individual university competitions held throughout the year.
The Three Minute Thesis concept was originally developed by the University of Queensland and has become an event that’s replicated around the globe. The competition supports graduate research students in their development as confident research communicators.
Participants are challenged to present their research in three minutes, using only one slide, to a non-specialist audience. Entrants must distil their niche subjects and intensive research into bite-sized presentations that will inform and entertain the general public.
Last year’s winner and the first-ever IUA Three Minute Thesis National champion was Lianne Shanley, from Trinity College Dublin, who presented on the topic of bone regeneration. Speaking about the impact of the competition she said, “The competition allowed me to think about my research in a new way, and it has made me a better communicator as a result. It also helped me to realise how much I enjoyed science communication, and, on completion of my PhD, I decided to pursue a career in medical communications “
Speaking ahead of the event, Chair of the Judging panel and Director General of IUA, Jim Miley said: “We are delighted to once again to host the fantastic initiative that is the Three Minute Thesis Competition. We have a diverse and talented variety of researchers in Ireland and taking part in the Three Minute Thesis offers them a platform to share their research in a way that boosts their confidence and ultimately provides them with the communication skills that are crucial in their careers.”
Today’s competition sees researchers compete from Dublin City University, Maynooth University, Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork, University College Dublin, University of Galway, University of Limerick and TU Dublin. It takes place from 11.15am-2pm at the Royal Irish Academy on Dawson Street.
The 2024 finalists are:
- Niall Ashfield (DCU) presents on breast cancer treatments with the goal of reducing side effects and treatment resistance.
- Wieteke Windrich (MU) presents on the factors influencing native language loss in immigrant populations.
- Rosie Giglia (TCD) presents on the cognitive changes that occur in many people with neurodegenerative conditions like multiple sclerosis and motor neuron disease.
- Megan Joyce (TU Dublin) presents on antimicrobial resistance and developing cost effective treatments for community acquired pneumonia.
- Louise McCormack (University of Galway) presents on building an open-source tool to evaluate the ethics and trustworthiness of AI systems.
- Melissa Kinch (UCD) presents on co-designing a clinical practice tool to support young people and families living with rare kidney diseases throughout healthcare transition.
- Muhammed Muddassar (UL) presents on harnessing waste heat, a largely untapped energy source, for generating electricity using sustainable materials, particularly lignin, a waste from paper and pulp industry.
- Aideen McCabe (UCC) presents on identifying ways to detect ovarian cancer earlier.
The judging panel will score the competitors on four aspects ‘Comprehension and Content’ and ‘Engagement and Communication’. They will decide the overall winner and runner up while the audience will get to choose their favourite also.
This year marks the second year the IUA hosts the competition in Ireland to celebrate the achievements and talent of Irish university PhD researchers.
A full playback of the event and short videos of the work of the competitors can be found at https://www.iua.ie/events/three-minute-thesis-iua-national-final-2024/
Ends.
For media queries: Erin Fox, Drury. E: Erin.fox@drury.ie M: +353 87 122 5485
Lia O’Sullivan, Head of Communications, Irish Universities Association. E: Lia.osullivan@iua.ie M: +353 85 714 1414
Photography: Photography from the event will be issued by Kenneth O’Halloran. E: kennethohalloran@gamil.com M: +353 87 139 2101
Notes to Editors
The judging panel, chaired by Jim Miley, Director General of IUA includes:
- Marina Donohoe, Enterprise Ireland’s Head of Research and Innovation
- Dr Eucharia Meehan, Registrar and CEO, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
- Billy Murphy, Chair of Drury