To register to attend in-person or online, visit: https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0jsG1FOtN9ZA6d8The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is an academic research communication competition developed by the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. Through the competition, graduate and professional students can hone their academic and research presentation skills and their ability to effectively explain their research to a general audience. Each competitor has three minutes to speak and can use only one presentation slide.
Ten graduate students have been named finalists for the 2025-26 J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.
The 10 finalists represent nine disciplines across seven academic colleges:
- Sayan Deep De, doctoral student in kinesiology
- Yasaman Ghaffarian, master’s student in architecture
- Julia Ho, doctoral student in architectural engineering
- Zilfa Irakoze, doctoral candidate in food science with a dual title in international agriculture and development
- Patrick Sarpong, doctoral student in energy and mineral engineering
- Shakshi Sekar, doctoral student in energy and mineral engineering
- Saiber Shaikh, doctoral student in counselor education
- Shikha Soneji, doctoral student in informatics
- Nusrat Tabassum, doctoral student in architecture
- Gopi Yalavarthi, doctoral student in nutritional sciences
These students will compete in the final round of Penn State’s 3MT competition, taking place Saturday, March 28, at 3 p.m. at the Nittany Lion Inn, University Park. First- and second-place winners will take home $1,000 and $500, respectively. In addition, the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA) will sponsor a People’s Choice Award, allowing the Penn State graduate education community to vote for their favorite presentation, worth $500.
The first-place winner of Penn State’s competition will advance to a regional-level competition, facing off against winners from other universities in the northeastern United States. Top-scoring students at the regional level will go on to compete nationally.
About 3MT
Developed initially by the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, 3MT is an academic research competition intended to help graduate students effectively communicate their research or scholarship in three minutes or less to a general, non-specialist audience. Each competitor is permitted one presentation slide to serve their pitch as a visual aid.
3MT is hosted and sponsored by the Fox Graduate School in collaboration with the GPSA.
