3-Minute Thesis 2025: Behind the Scenes
By Silvia Renon, the PGR Staff Events intern in the Research Culture and Researcher Development team, who helped run the 3MT in 2025.
Silvia is currently a third-year PhD candidate in biomedical engineering and cardiovascular application.
Every year, postgraduate researchers from around the world take part in the 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. Originating from the University of Queensland in Australia, 3MT has brought together more than 900 institutions across more than 85 countries to participate in a challenge that celebrates communication and creativity. The idea is simple, but also very challenging: PhD students have just three minutes to explain their research to a general audience, using only one slide. The University of Glasgow joined this great competition in 2013 and, since then, 3MT has become one of the biggest events for PGRs (Postgraduate Researchers) in the university. For many PGRs, this is an exciting chance to challenge themselves, learn new skills, and present their work in a new way.
At the centre of this competition is what seems like a simple challenge: present your entire PhD research in just three minutes, using only one slide, and speak in a way that’s clear and engaging for a non-specialist audience.
But anyone who's ever taken part knows it’s far from simple. The talk only last 3 minutes and it’s a moment of adrenaline and focus, but behind this time are weeks of preparation and repeated practice. Participants rehearse with friends, family, colleagues, or even just in front of the mirror until every word and movement feels just right.
But while all eyes are on the (virtual) stage during the competition, there’s an equally impressive effort and teamwork happening behind the scenes to make this event possible. This year I led the organising the competition, and so I had the privilege of witnessing the dedication it takes from both sides to bring 3MT to life.
Planning the Event: A Months-Long Operation
Organising the 3MT competition starts long before the first speaker “logs in” onto the stage. In fact, planning usually starts as early as late November or early December, even though the main event typically takes place between March and April. One of the first tasks is to determine the final date of the competition. This milestone sets the pace for everything else—from when to open registrations, to scheduling information sessions, coordinating heat rounds, and recruiting both judges and support staff.
This reverse planning helps us make sure there's enough time to get everything ready for the event. And it’s definitely a team effort! 3MT only works because so many people pitch in with their time, skills, and energy, with behind-the-scenes work like scheduling meetings, sending emails, and keeping track of everyone involved.
In 2025, we were thrilled to host 33 participants, with 16 advancing to the final. The journey included five heats spread over two weeks, leading to our grand finale on March 27th. It’s a big event, in fact, one of the largest competitions for PGRs at the university!
The Role of Judges: More Than Just Scoring
One of the most crucial roles in 3MT is that of the judges. For each heat, we had at least three judges, meaning a total of 20 judges participated across the competition. Their role goes beyond just listening and assigning points as they are active participants in the event.
According to the official 3MT rules, judging is based on key principles such as comprehension, engagement, and communication. The main points being:
How clearly the speaker explains their topic
How well they engage the audience
How effectively they communicate their research
Judges must actively listen, fill out score sheets during each presentation, and provide individual feedback to every student. After each session, the judges meet to discuss their scores, combining the numbers with their own insights and impressions. Our judging panel is carefully selected to reflect a diverse range of backgrounds; we rely on research professionals that bring an expertise that is outside academic boundaries. Many have experience in public speaking, science communication, or working with researchers to take research out of the university. Their perspectives help make the judging fair and meaningful.
For the final round, our judging panel included research and public engagement professionals who are experts in communicating research across academic disciplines, to span over the interdisciplinary nature of the event.
The judges this year represented a wide range of schools and departments, including Research Support Offices, Communications Managers, Engagement Managers, Effective Learning Advisers, and so many more! This mix brings our university community together to highlight and celebrate the work and talent of PGRs.
The Unseen Team: Helpers and Support Crew
Just as crucial as the judges are the helpers, the people you may not see, but without whom the event wouldn’t run. For each heat and the final, we had a support team from the Research Culture and Researcher Development Team (RC&RD) to ensure the events ran smoothly.
There are four main roles in this behind-the-scenes crew:
Host: The face of the session, introducing speakers and keeping the event on track.
Co-Host: The backup support, often helping with transitions and timekeeping also in charge of managing the slide deck.
Technical Support 1: Back-up timer, coordination and communicating with judges, managing recording presentations and overall smooth delivery of visuals.
Technical Support 2: Handles Zoom logistics, troubleshooting, and audience management, chatrooms, waiting rooms and microphones.
The hard work of the support team at each session makes a big difference and allows the presenters to focus fully on their talks. This year’s team included names like our amazing returning presenters Rachel Lyon and Emma Waters, who brought enthusiasm, precision, and calm to every single session; and new entries such as Sumayya Usmani, Zain Ul Abidin, Joulie Axelithioti and Cole Collings in their role as hosts and co-hosts that kept the conversation engaging in between presenters. On the support team a special mention to Daniel Perry, Danielle Barkley and Fatima Sal for their attention to detail—from adjusting slides to managing breakout rooms and keeping the chatroom active—ensured that each session was a smooth and supportive space for participants to shine.
For the final, we also had a special guest host: Helen Arney. Helen is a comedian, science presenter, and songwriter, known for mixing facts and fun in a creative way. Helen has appeared on BBC’s You Have Been Warned and has performed everywhere from science festivals to the Royal Institution. Her warm, witty presence brought an extra spark to the event, creating an atmosphere that was both professional and entertaining. We’re incredibly grateful for her contribution to making the final such a memorable experience.
Image created on Canva.com AI image creator
👉 You can find out more about Helen and her work at www.helenarney.com
A True Celebration of Research and Community
What makes the 3MT competition so special is that it’s more than just a contest, it’s a celebration of the amazing work done by postgraduate researchers. This is an event that celebrates and highlight the community that surrounds PGRs, from the participants working to achieve the perfect 3-minute presentation, to judges giving constructive feedback and to the organisers and helpers coming together and working for months to create such unique and passionate event.
It’s a team effort all the way and is a celebration of the diversity, creativity, and impact of postgraduate research.
It’s a space where researchers learn how to practice public speaking, boost confidence, and learn how to talk about complex ideas in simple, effective ways. Engaging in 3MT is a valuable experience for a researcher, the skills learnt during the competition are transferable to other areas of activity for researchers. For example, being able to simply explain one’s research in a succinct way can translate into an effective elevator pitch for future interviews. Gaining confidence to talk in front of an audience can ease future public presentations and inspire participating to future events. Learning how to synthetise, summarise research while keeping clear the aims and the substance of the work is a fundamental skill to be used in both research and a diverse range of potential careers. There are so many reasons to participate and to celebrate the effort of all PGRs taking place in this competition across the university!
This year’s competition was full of inspiring talks, great questions, and strong community spirit.
Thank you to everyone who took part, helped, or watched the event. And of course, if you haven’t yet, make sure to check out this year’s 3MT videos on YouTube!
