Megan Joyce from TU Dublin won the Audience Choice Award of ‘Three Minute Thesis’ Irish Universities Association National Final 2024
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Three Minute Thesis competition leaves lasting impact on PhD researchers
13 November 2024 –Megan Joyce from TU Dublin was awarded the Audience Choice Award the national final of this year’s Three Minute Thesis IUA National Final. Votes were cast by nearly 300 attending the event. Megan presented on antimicrobial resistance and developing cost effective treatments for community acquired pneumonia.
Presenting on identifying ways to detect ovarian cancer earlier, Aideen McCabe, from University College Cork has been named the champion of the national final of this year’s Three Minute Thesis competition. Muhammed Muddassar from University of Limerick named as the runner-up.
The Irish Universities Association (IUA) today held its annual Three Minute Thesis National Final. Competing for the national prize were eight PhD Researchers, each the winner in their individual university competitions held throughout the year.
The Three Minute Thesis concept was originally developed by the University of Queensland and has become an event that’s replicated around the globe. The competition supports graduate research students in their development as confident research communicators.
Participants are challenged to present their research in three minutes, using only one slide, to a non-specialist audience. Entrants must distil their niche subjects and intensive research into bite-sized presentations that will inform and entertain the general public.
Today’s competition saw researchers compete from Dublin City University, Maynooth University, Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork, University College Dublin, University of Galway, University of Limerick and TU Dublin.
The judging panel scored the competitors on two aspects ‘Comprehension and Content’ and ‘Engagement and Communication’. They decided the overall winner and runner up while the Audience got to choose their favourite also.
Speaking after the event, Chair of the Judging panel and Director General of IUA, Jim Miley said:
We are delighted to once again to host the fantastic initiative that is the Three Minute Thesis Competition. We have a diverse and talented variety of researchers in Ireland and taking part in the Three Minute Thesis offers them a platform to share their research in a way that boosts their confidence and ultimately provides them with the communication skills that are crucial in their careers. I’d like to congratulate the winners of today’s competition and all the finalists on participating in the national final. I hope the experience gives each and every one a sense of accomplishment and the empowerment to confidentially communicate your research
The 2024 finalists were:
- Niall Ashfield (DCU) who presented on breast cancer treatments with the goal of reducing side effects and treatment resistance.
- Wieteke Windrich (MU) presents on the factors influencing native language loss in immigrant populations.
- Rosie Giglia (TCD) who presented on the cognitive changes that occur in many people with neurodegenerative conditions like multiple sclerosis and motor neuron disease.
- Megan Joyce (TU Dublin) who presented on antimicrobial resistance and developing cost effective treatments for community acquired pneumonia.
- Louise McCormack (University of Galway) who presented on building an open-source tool to evaluate the ethics and trustworthiness of AI systems.
- Melissa Kinch (UCD) who presented on co-designing a clinical practice tool to support young people and families living with rare kidney diseases throughout healthcare transition.
- Muhammed Muddassar (UL) who presented on harnessing waste heat, a largely untapped energy source, for generating electricity using sustainable materials, particularly lignin, a waste from paper and pulp industry.
This year marks the second year the IUA hosts the competition in Ireland to celebrate the achievements and talent of Irish university PhD researchers.
A full playback of the event and short videos of the work of the competitors can be found at https://www.iua.ie/events/three-minute-thesis-iua-national-final-2024/
The judging panel, chaired by Jim Miley, Director General of IUA included:
- Marina Donohoe, Divisional Manager, Research and Innovation, Enterprise Ireland
- Dr Eucharia Meehan, Registrar and CEO, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
- Billy Murphy, Chair of Drury