Doctoral students are invited to participate in the three-minute thesis competition

On Thursday, 28 September, a three-minute thesis competition for doctoral students will be held in the conference hall of the University of Tartu Library. This is a great opportunity to get acquainted with the research doctoral students in different scientific fields are working on.

The event will be held in two languages and in two parts: first presentations in Estonian and then in English. At the end, there will be a joint award ceremony and the audience favourite will be announced.

Everyone is welcome!

The University of Tartu doctoral students are invited to participate in the three-minute thesis competition on 28 September to present their research to the university family and the public and gain valuable speaking experience. The presentations may be in Estonian or English, and each will be video recorded. 

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The three-minute thesis competition is an excellent opportunity for young researchers to get more public resonance for their research, develop their public speaking and communication skills and hear about the work of their colleagues in other research fields. According to Kertu Liis Krigul, Junior Research Fellow of Microbiomics, who successfully represented the University of Tartu in the finals of the 2023 national competition "Science in Three Minutes", the three-minute thesis competition offers an opportunity for doctoral students to deeply reflect on the societal value of their research and test whether it is possible to make others understand its importance. "I am sure that already after the preliminary round, most participants will have ideas on how to make clearer presentations at conferences and present their work to their family and friends in such a way that elicits additional questions rather than silence. As a bonus, you get a quick overview of the exciting things done in Estonian science," said Krigul. 

The jury provides in-depth feedback to all participants, and the most successful young researchers receive a cash prize. The best three presenters in Estonian will have an opportunity to represent the University of Tartu at the Estonian Academy of Sciences competition "Science in Three Minutes". The video recording of the winning presentation will be sent to Coimbra Group's international Three-Minute Thesis competition. In cooperation with ERR Novaator and UT magazine, we also offer the possibility to publish the topics presented in the competition. 

Young researcher, come and tell us about your groundbreaking research! 

To participate in the competition, please fill in the registration form in Estonian or English, depending on the language of your presentation, by 14 September. All young researchers can also attend a practical training session in English on 20 September.

On Thursday, 7 September, from 14:15–15:15, Kertu Liis Krigul, Jürgen Karvak and Kristo Raun, doctoral students who successfully took part in the University of Tartu three-minute thesis competition, will explain at the information session ­­­­­­­­"From doctoral student to doctoral student: why and how to summarise your research in three minutes?" why it is worthwhile for young researchers to participate in the competition.

To enter the competition, you must prepare an engaging talk in Estonian or English, summarising the problem that prompted the research, its solutions, preliminary results and impact in no more than three minutes. In the presentation, describe what you have learnt from the research, to whom and how the work is relevant, and what is novel and exciting about the approach. 

See the University of Tartu website for detailed competition rules, evaluation criteria and tips for preparing for the competition. 

The competition is organised by the University of Tartu's Office of Academic Affairs, Marketing and Communication Office and International Cooperation and Protocol Office.