18 PhD student will battle for to become AU’s contestant in the European final of the Three Minute Thesis Competition, which crowns the best research graduate student research communicator in Europe. Join this virtual AU event on 18 March, when research talents will present talk on a wide variety of topics, from radicalisation and extremism and viral infections to how the indoor climate affects our health.

2021.03.11 | Ida Hammerich Nielson

The graduate students who will participate in 3TM will all received online training in rhetoric and body language prior to the competition, so they’re prepared to deliver a razor-sharp, vivid presentation of their research. The photo shows 16of the graduate students, along with academic staff members at a workshop. Photo: Project Manager Katrine Boserup Jensen

Present your research to a general audience in a dynamic and easily understandable way in three minutes with only one slide. That’s the challenge facing the 18 AU graduate students who’ll be participating in  Three Minute Thesis (3MT) on 18 March, from 16:00 to 18:30. You can attend the virtual competition on Zoom – and vote for which PhD student will receive the audience award.

The graduate students are from all five faculties at AU. One of the participants is Christopher Kehlet Ebbrecht from Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, who will present his work on why individuals engage in public mass violence, e.g. terror and school shootings:

"I’m participating in the 3MT competition to strengthen my communication skills. I believe that research communication is a central aspect of conducting responsible research, and that every researcher has a duty to communicate their knowledge outside the infamous ivory tower, "he said.

The winner of 3MT at AU will be given a spot in the European finals, in which more than 35 European universities participate – as well as a travel grant of 35,000 kroner. The university alliance Coimbra Group, to which AU belongs, is behind the 3TM competition.

The winner will be chosen by this year’s jury year, which consists of Associate Professor Ditlev Egeskov Brodersen from Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Associate Professor Christian Ulrik Andersen from the School of Communication and Culture as well as AU’s head of communications and press Sys Christina Vestergaard. An audience choice award will also be presented.

Sign up as ‘interested’ or ‘participant’ for  the event on Facebook, and get a link to the event the day before the competition.

Read more about 3MT. Here you’ll also find a list of participants.