Three-Minute Thesis competition challenges graduate students to get to the point

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The fourth annual Three-Minute Thesis competition will feature finalist presentations at 7 p.m. April 6 in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. It is free and open to the public.

Graduate students who participate in the fast-paced competition sponsored by Purdue's Graduate School present their research findings to a lay audience in three minutes, using a single PowerPoint slide.

"We would like to see all of the community engaged at this event in learning about the research that students are doing," said Linda Mason, associate dean of the Graduate School. "Three-Minute Thesis allows everybody to hear about new research directly from the researchers and gain a wide variety of knowledge in a fraction of the time these graduate students have spent studying the topic."

A panel of judges will evaluate presentations based on three criteria: communication style, ability to help audience members understand their research and ability to engage listeners.

The panel of faculty, local media and community judges will award a winner $500 and a runner-up $250. Audience members will vote for a People's Choice Award, worth $250.

In 2013 Purdue began hosting the Three-Minute Thesis competition, originally developed by the University of Queensland in 2008 to challenge students to consolidate their ideas and crystallize their research discoveries. More information and videos of previous winners are available here.

Media contact: Greg McClure, 765-496-9711, gmcclure@purdue.edu

Source: Linda Mason, associate dean, Purdue graduate school, 765-494-0245, lmason@purdue.edu