What is The Three Minute Thesis Competition?
The Three Minute Thesis® competition is a speaking event founded by The University of Queensland, Australia. This year, SEDS proudly hosted a version of this event during our annual Ascension conference. We invited students from all disciplines to bring forward a topic of research that they believe is important for the space community of Canada to know about. We challenged these students to concisely describe their research and it’s importance in three minutes in front of an audience of 600 people during the Ascension 2021 conference. This resulted in an amazingly educational and enjoyable session that inspired people all over the world.
Judging Criteria
Is the submission convincing? Does the submission explain the importance of the research being presented?
Are the ideas which have been presented worthy of further investigation or investment? Why?
Is the submission concise? The contestant’s aim should be to speak to the values of the audience, and quickly get to the point.
Is the submission well articulated? The contestant should speak in an engaging and appropriate manner.
Is the submission original? During the selection process for deciding finalists, bonus points will be given to candidates whose research
focuses on ideas which are not conventionally associated with Space research.
Rules
Research must be recent or ongoing
Research must have been completed within the past two years.
Presentations are limited to 3 minutes in length
Presentations that are longer than three-minutes will be disqualified.
Presentations must be appropriate
Ascension is a formal event. Therefore, profanity and inappropriate conduct will not be tolerated.
Finalists must attend the Ascension conference
Finalists will be expected to perform live presentation during the second day of Ascension between 11:15am and 12pm. Therefore, they are expected to log into the conference platform at a specified time before the commencement of presentations. Finalists will also be expected to attend a demo tour of the conference platform to become familiarized with the flow of the conference. .
Confidentiality/Intellectual Rights
All segments of the Ascension conference will be recorded and made freely available online. For this reason, it is advised that contestants consider the effect that these conditions will have on the intellectual property clauses and rights that surround their work. It should be noted that works which are presented in the public domain before copyright claims are made are often illegible for copyright claims afterwards.
Contestants will also be required to provide a headshot, and a short bio, which will be presented during the Ascension conference, as well as on social media such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Prizes
1st Place: $150 CAD
2nd Place : $100 CAD
3rd Place: $50 CAD
Important Dates
Submission Deadline: 6pm (PST), Feb 15, 2021 (Deadline extended from Feb 6th)
Finalist Announcements: Feb 17, 2021 (Moved From Feb 16th to accommodate new submissions)
Final Presentations: 11:15am (PST), Feb 27, 2021
Frequenty Asked Questions
Who is Eligible?
To be eligible, one must be a student studying at a university or college anywhere on Earth.
Can I use cue cards or notes?
Cue cards and notes are permitted during presentations, but will result in a subtraction from the contestant’s score.
Can I use props during my presentation?
Any prop, whether that be audio or visual, is allowed. However, contestants should note that this is a formal competition, and so the use of any props which unnecessarily distract from the presentation will result in subtractions from the contestant’s score. Additionally, due to the remote nature of the presentation it may be difficult to incorporate certain props.
Can I have a PowerPoint/LaTeX presentation?
Contestants may use a PowerPoint/LaTeX with as many slides as they would like.
Is there is a dress code?
There is no specific dress code, however, applicants are advised to dress semi-formal or formally.
What if I can’t attend the finals?
Finalists are expected to attend the Ascension conference on Feb. 27th, between 11am and 12pm, and will be disqualified if they cannot attend.
Where can I answer questions?
Contestants may fill out the following form to ask the Three Minute Thesis team questions:
Associate Professor
