About 3MT

3MT is an academic competition that challenges postgraduate researchers (PGRs) to deliver a compelling spoken presentation on their research topic and its significance in just three minutes. It started at the University of Queensland and competitions take place at institutions around the world each year.

Participants at Sussex compete for a chance to win £500 towards research and a place in the Vitae UK semi-finals. There are also prizes of £250 for the runner-up and People’s Choice. Entrants are supported with training and a peer practice session to help hone those presenting skills.

3MT 2026 presenters

Read about our 2026 presenters.

Charity Anietie-Akanam (Management) - Nation Branding Under Reputational Constraint

My research explores how countries with emerging markets manage their reputation when trust is already low and change is slow. Focusing on Nigeria, I use interviews with policymakers and nation branders to examine how negative stereotypes, instability, and uneven reform shape how countries are viewed internationally. The study shows that nation branding is not simply about promoting a positive image. Instead, it is about managing trust and credibility under pressure. The research highlights the tension between what countries promise and what global audiences believe, offering insights into how countries communicate when reputation, trust, and institutional change do not move at the same pace.

Meg Fawthrop (Philosophy) - From Cells to Selves: Brain Organoids and the Combination Problem

Consciousness remains one of the biggest mysteries in philosophy. Despite developments in neuroscience, we are unable to explain why we have a subjective experience. The mainstream view is that consciousness arises from non-conscious matter. Panpsychism suggests that consciousness is a fundamental feature of reality. However, panpsychism faces the combination problem: how do micro-subjects combine to create a unified macro-subject. Brain organoids (micro 3D brain models grown from human stem-cells) can provide insight into this problem. By examining considering organoids alongside Integrated Information Theory, I investigate how conscious parts might form integrated wholes, offering a route through the combination problem.

Trevor Hewitt (Informatics) - Quantifying the Phenomenology of Visual Hallucinations

Since ancient times, hallucinatory experiences have been regarded as sources of wisdom, forming the basis of many religious and philosophical traditions. Now, researchers explain these experiences through mechanisms within the brain. This thesis tests these theories by training participants to produce images of visual hallucinations induced under laboratory conditions. We demonstrate that the range of hallucinatory experiences consistently exceeds neurobiological predictions. This suggests conscious vision is a more multi-level process than current models of hallucinations account for. This may provide an empirical foundation to bridge the gap between neural activity and conscious experience in normal and altered states of consciousness.

Natalia James (Sociology) - Classroom Behaviour-Tracking Platforms: The stories the data doesn't tell

Schools across the UK use digital platforms to track, score, and share children's behaviour in real time. But whose experiences are missing from the research? Existing studies treat young people as a universal group and broadly find these systems efficient and positive. This research challenges that consensus. Working with young people aged 11–16 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, and their families, I use creative participatory methods to capture the stories the data doesn't tell. By centring voices shaped by disability, class, race, and gender, this research will uncover how those most marginalised in education experience these systems differently.

Hestin Kezia Octalina Klaas (Institute for Development Studies) - When Help Doesn’t Arrive

What does social protection look like in places shaped by conflict, displacement, and digital inequality? Based on 11 months of multi-sited ethnography across Indonesia, including 166 interviews, participatory video workshops, and participant observation, I found that support is rarely delivered through formal systems alone. In Papua, survival is sustained through kin and clan; in West Timor, through displacement-shaped communities; and in Singkawang, through informal volunteer networks. As digital social protection expands, it can exclude those without access, literacy, or connectivity, while structural neglect and strategic ambiguity shift responsibility onto communities. In response, people translate, navigate, and improvise access. Social protection does not exist only as a system. It also emerges through people who become infrastructure of care and access.

Yan Li (Accounting and Finance) - Shipping networks and freight rate dynamics: trade flows and price discovery

This thesis examines the global dry bulk market through two connected lenses: trade flow networks and freight rate price discovery. It first models dry bulk trade as a weighted directed network across coal, iron ore, and grain, identifying heavy-tailed degree distributions and commodity-specific structural breaks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. It then applies Modified Information Share and Component Share measures to physical freight markets, comparing spot rates across routes, cargo types, and vessel segments. The results show that price discovery is shaped by both trade volume and vessel segmentation, linking network structure to freight market behaviour.

Zaid Muhammad (Neuroscience) - A Warming World, Unequal Risk: Why Heat May Not Affect Every Brain the Same Way

As the world gets hotter due to climate change, dementia-related hospitalisations are rising, but the biological reasons remain unclear. My research asks whether heat affects every brain in the same way. What is considered a heatwave in Europe may be a normal summer in places like northern Nigeria, raising important questions about vulnerability and resilience across populations. I use human stem-cell-derived brain cells from African and European backgrounds and expose them to controlled heat stress. By studying cellular damage and stress responses, I aim to understand how heat may contribute to unequal dementia risk in a warming world.

Yuwei Qiu (English) - British views of women traders in Qing China during the Macartney Embassy

This project examines representations of Chinese women traders in late Qing China, focusing on visual and textual materials produced by the Macartney Embassy, especially the paintings of William Alexander. While women were actively involved in trade, they are often depicted as domestic and refined figures within familial or social roles, rather than as economic figures. By comparing these depictions with actual economic practices, this study reveals how women’s economic contributions were systematically overlooked, highlighting a gap between women’s participation in trade and their representation in early British accounts of China.

Fernando Rowland (Economics) - Three essays on the economics of education in Chile

In the beginning of 1980s, in Chile the process of decentralization of public schools began from the central government to the municipalities, which it was a gradual process that ended between 1986 and 1987. In 2017 the centralization process began with the creation of New Public Education System through Law No. 21,040. This research tries to measure the impact on the academic performance of schools with data between 2013 to 2025 with the methodology of difference-in-difference, graph analysis and event studies. In the first estimations I find a positive impact over the performance of schools, but it is not significant.

Robyn Scharte (Psychology) - Cannabis & the self: Investigating interoception as a process linking cannabis use and unusual experiences in the general population

Cannabis use is linked to more unusual experiences, such as feeling detached from yourself or reality, and in some cases, also to a higher risk of psychosis. Yet we still do not understand why cannabis is related to these unusual experiences. Interoception, the process through which we notice signals from inside our body, such as our heartbeat or breathing, may be part of the answer. In my PhD, I use a range of research methods to investigate whether cannabis use and unusual experiences are linked through interoception. My findings could help us identify individuals at risk for psychosis earlier and improve support options.

About the 2026 competition

This year, to open the competition to more researchers, 3MT heats will take place in each of the four faculties, with the top three from each going forward to the Sussex final in June.

The heats take place in a more informal setting, giving you a more gentle introduction to presenting your research in the build-up to the big event, and are a chance to share your work researchers outside your immediate environment and across your broader discipline.

If you are considering taking part in this years 3MT then check out our pages on preparing your 3MT presentation.

Key dates

The key dates for the competition are:

• February-April – faculty heats
• Wednesday 13 May – 3MT training day for finalists to hone presentations
• Tuesday 2 June – peer practice day for finalists
• Friday 26 June – Sussex 3MT final.

Eligibility

Eligibility criteria:

• active postgraduate researcher’s (PGRs) registered with the University of Sussex who have successfully passed their confirmation milestone (including PGRs whose thesis is under submission) by the date of their first presentation – eligible to participate
• PGRs who have already had their viva – not eligible to participate.

Rules

The rules of the competition are as follows:

• a single static PowerPoint slide is permitted. No slide transitions, animations or ‘movement’ of any description are allowed. The slide is to be presented from the beginning of the oration
• no additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted
• no additional props (e.g.costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted
• presentations are limited to three minutes maximum and competitors exceeding three minutes are disqualified
• presentations are to be spoken word (eg. no poems, raps or songs)
• presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts their presentation through either movement or speech
• the decision of the adjudicating panel is final.

Rules and criteria set by the University of Queensland, as of April 2024

Judging criteria

The following criteria will guide the judges’ decisions. Each criterion is equally weighted and has an emphasis on audience.

Comprehension and content:

• presentation provided clear background and significance to the research question
• presentation clearly described the research strategy/design and the results/findings of the research
• presentation clearly described the conclusions, outcomes and impact of the research.

Engagement and communication:

• the oration was delivered clearly, and the language was appropriate for a non-specialist audience
• the PowerPoint slide was well-defined and enhanced the presentation
• the presenter conveyed enthusiasm for their research and captured and maintained the audience’s attention.

Rules and criteria set by theUniversity of Queensland, as of April 2024

Why take part?

Taking part in 3MT allows you to showcase your research in a dynamic and concise way, helping you develop the ability to communicate complex ideas effectively. It’s a chance to engage with a broader audience, as well as think critically about your research’s core message, making it accessible and impactful to non-specialists.

We hope you find this unique opportunity a great way of developing your presentation and research communication skills, as well as meeting other PGRs from across the University who are taking on the challenge.

Check out what finalists have to say about taking part in the 3MT in the video below or have a look at our previous 3MT competitions.

Video transcript

[MUSIC: Soft Piano Music]

[TITLE CARD: Title at top of slide ‘Sussex Researcher School’. Middle of slide sunshine yellow speech bubble with question ‘How did you find taking part in the Three Minute Thesis?’. At bottom of slide University of Sussex logo and 3MT logo.]

Heather Williams – Institute of Development Studies:

I found it a really rewarding and uplifting experience actually.

Theresa Clementson – Media, Arts and Humanities:

The training was fantastic. The day with Catherine Pope, where we kind of prepared our stories and our narratives and practised with each other was incredibly helpful.

Imelda Dwi Rosita Sari – Education and Social Work:;

This was very very helpful for me because I’m still very nervous about speaking in front of the public. So I just really have to force myself and this Three Minute Thesis competition give me the platform to practise and to present in front of the public.

Dominika Varga – Psychology:

It’s very challenging, but it's very fulfilling when you are able to make a three minute story of all the work that you have done throughout your PhD.

Belen Martinez – Global Studies:

Well, it was actually a great experience because we spent the day together with the rest of the participants and it was a very supportive environment, and we learned about each other and our work.

[END CARD: Title at top of slide ‘Sussex Researcher School’. University of Sussex logo in the centre.]