The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition is a research communication competition that was developed in 2008 by the University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia. In this competition, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students are given three minutes to present a compelling oration on their thesis and its significance. The 3MT competition challenges students to consolidate their ideas and research findings so they can be presented concisely to a non-specialist audience. Since its inception in 2008, enthusiasm for the 3MT concept and its adoption in numerous universities has led to the development of an international competition. The 3MT competition was designed to develop skills that will give students an important career advantage once they complete their studies.
Students become eligible to participate in the National 3MT competition once they have participated in the competition at institutional level. The institutional winner and runner up become eligible for representation at national level. Participating institutions are therefore required to host their internal competition as a preliminary selection procedure.