3 Minute Thesis - 2020 finalists

Healthcare Super-heros vs Human Resource Super-zeros!

I am a third-year PhD candidate studying how HR practices impact on the wellbeing of employees. In particular, I am focusing on how western HR practices are implemented in other contexts. Cultural and contextual differences are a big part of my study. I am also a lecturer back in Saudi Arabia, and I look forward to transferring the knowledge I have gained through my candidature to my students one day. The 3MT virtual competition has been extremely enriching. It was challenging to leave some bits out of my speech that I felt were interesting, but it made me realise what information will be most impactful to a general audience. This experience has given me confidence in communicating my research in a concise and clear way. Every PhD student should give this a go during their candidature. A big thanks to Tiffany and the team.

PTSD, is it all about perspective

My name is Alex Canty. My research interests have always revolved around psychology, specifically how individual differences and experiences shape who we become. I am currently in my first year of PhD candidature working in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and one day I hope to become a clinical psychologist. So far, the 3MT experience has been a surreal introduction to the research opportunities that post-graduate study at Flinders University provides. 3MT has helped me immensely in defining the key aspects of my research and communicating my research in a comprehensible manner outside a specialist audience.

Hypersovereignty in a land girt by sea

My research investigates the nexus between the phenomena of globalisation, the concept of national sovereignty and changes to Australian migration law since 2000 . I am asking is this hyper sovereignty in the face of a waning sovereignty and what do these changes to the law mean for values such as the rule of law?

Condensing this conceptually complex investigation into an accessible three minutes for a non specialist audience was a valuable exercise.  It helped me further sharpen my research focus.  It was also inspiring to meet so many other researchers and hear of their efforts to 'make a difference' to our knowledge and to real world outcomes.

Food service satisfaction in residential aged care homes

Morgan is in the final year of her candidature with the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Flinders University and an Accredited Practising Dietitian. Her PhD project is focussed on food service satisfaction in Aged Care Homes and she is passionate about improving the quality of care for our Elders. Morgan volunteers her time with the Maggie Beer Foundation to support their “Create an Appetite for Life” workshops which aim to upskill cooks and chefs working in aged care.

Morgan says: “The 3MT has been an exciting challenge that has helped to reinvigorate me and refocus my attention. Before Covid-19, maintaining contact with residents in aged care was how I kept reminding myself of the value of my work. Due to restrictions this was no longer possible so sharing my work with others through the 3MT has been a very valuable reminder that I am living my passion.”

Don't we all deserve to feel safe at home?

I have a broad research interest in topics about preventing harm and discrimination against people with disability and improving social justice. I am in the middle of my data analysis currently. I hope to continue to research violence and discrimination prevention in the disability community. 

3MT has been a great way to focus on a small task (constructing a 3 minute speech!) and allowed me to practice communicating about my research (something I find very hard to do!)

Pain into power. Wound into wisdom

I am Tazrina Chowdhury, an aspiring researcher in the field of disaster resilience and emergency management. I am particularly interested in working with vulnerable communities, understand their lifeworld and increase their resilience capacity in faces of disasters. My PhD research focuses on the experiences of cyclone-affected women in Bangladesh and I am in the 3rd year of my PhD candidature. 

The year 2020 is a challenging year for all of us and I was finding it difficult to keep myself motivated. When I started preparing for the 3MT competition, I was driven to identify potential outcomes of my research to structure an engaging storyline for the speech, which helped me to pick up the pace of my work. The competition also boosted my confidence to present my ideas and thoughts in front of people with expertise in diverse branches. 3MT gave me an opportunity to meet other wonderful PhD candidates; the constructive criticisms during the practice sessions and working as a team while competing each other made the journey unique and even more interesting.

Autism & education - are we on the right track?

My name is Vanessa Alexander and I am in my final year of the Doctor of Education. The purpose of my research is to examine through a critical lens, the dominant cultural representations of autism, and how these influence understanding and practices in the field of South Australian education. The 3MT experience has felt like an academic rite of passage. I have really enjoyed the practice sessions and sharing the experience with the other students across the stages of the competition, and to see how all of the presentations  have evolved throughout the process. It has been a great opportunity to refine the key message of my research and explore how to communicate that clearly to the audience in three minutes. In turn, this has really helped me in writing my thesis.

Understanding perceived abortion stigma in Australia 

I am a researcher in the field of global public health and health equity, with a particular focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights. I am currently in the data analysis stage of my candidature. While PhDs can be lonely journeys, the 3MT has given me an opportunity to connect with students from across the university and be re-inspired by a diversity of fascinating research. I’m grateful for the specificity of the feedback provided during coaching, and for the opportunity to learn how to tell the story of my ‘sensitive’ research in an engaging yet professional way.