How many innovative ideas can you learn about in 30 minutes?
At : a lot.
This upcoming Wednesday, March 9, more than 100 of Dal鈥檚 top master鈥檚 and PhD students will take part in the fourth-annual competition, presenting their research to the best of their abilities. They only get one PowerPoint slide 鈥斅燼nd one chance to make an impression to the judges.
From their ranks, the judges will select the top candidates to move on to the finals Thursday night. Both the preliminary rounds and the finals are open to anyone to drop in and learn about the work of Dal鈥檚 grad students.
| Preliminary heats | Wednesday, March 9 Room 303, Student Union Building 9 a.m. 鈥� 4:15 p.m. . |
| Finals | Thursday, March 10 Theatre B, Tupper Building 6:30 p.m. (reception to follow) |
The competition is hosted by Dal鈥檚 Faculty of Graduate Studies. Alicia Kirk, senior thesis clerk and event organizer, is pleased with how the event has taken off this year.
鈥淲e have nearly double the participants we鈥檝e had in any of the past years, this shows us that students perceive it to be a really valuable opportunity,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 had students and supervisors emailing me about the event before we even kicked it off this year. There seems to be a lot of energy and excitement for it.鈥�
Focus and precision
Diane Ramsay, a master鈥檚 student in the Kinesiology, is preparing to take part in the competition.
鈥淎t first is is very difficult to summarize your whole thesis in three minutes,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut this is an important skill to have, especially when talk to future employers or individuals from different fields that you want to collaborate with, as they will want a concise and interesting summary of your study.鈥�
Kirk agrees. 鈥淚t鈥檚 becoming more and more important to be able to relay the value of your research briefly and clearly, without the jargon.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 also an awesome networking opportunity,鈥� she adds. 鈥淲e鈥檝e seen so many students make connections with someone from another department that they never would have known about if it weren鈥檛 for this event bringing them together.鈥�
Carolyn Wilson, a master鈥檚 student on the Agricultural Campus, has competed in previous years and plans to do so again this year.
鈥淲hat makes it exciting is you get to hear about so many different projects that you鈥檇 never be exposed to without a competition like this,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou get to hear about research going on all across the school. It鈥檚 also nice to go back and see the new spins on projects you saw the year before.鈥�
With a diverse and vast group of participants, this year鈥檚 Three-Minute Thesis competition is poised to be the best yet 鈥斅爏ome of Dal鈥檚 most exciting research explained with speed and precision.
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