Past Competitions:

I was encouraged by my CETL teacher, Peter Lau, to participate in the 3MT competition when I was in my first year of PhD study. Since then, I have been looking forward to sharing my research by this competition in an interesting way to the lay audience. It was enjoyable participating in the 3MT competition. On the one hand, I was so happy that the audience was attracted by my research and presentation. On the other hand, during the preparation for the competition, I also felt enthusiastic that my research is so meaningful to our daily life. I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. Dennis Leung, for his guidance and support. I would also like to thank my lab mates and friends for helping me a lot in my study. I am also very grateful to my boyfriend, for encouraging and helping me to prepare for this competition.
Champion
Ms Muyan WU
PhD, Faculty of Engineering
The 3MT competition is a great experience for me to share my research findings with lay people. It is really challenging to tell a research story to lay people in only 3 minutes. But it is worth doing that! It reminds me of how meaningful my research work is in the real world, but it is not just about the p-value statistically. I enjoyed the 3MT competition very much. I would definitely recommend the 3MT competition to all postgraduates. It is more than a competition, and it is a good chance to share our own research stories and to inspire others. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors, Prof. Edward C.M. Lo and Prof. May C.M. Wong. I am grateful to both of them for coming to support me in the competition and guiding me all along during my studies.
2nd Runner-up  
Ms Meng JIANG
PhD, Faculty of Dentistry
Even before the 3MT, I have been communicating science to the rural audience of my home state in South India - Tamil Nadu, in the local language ‘Tamil’ via YouTube videos. Coming from a rural background, I believe science communication and education, especially, at the grass root level is key for rural empowerment. This interest in science communication excited me to participate in the HKU 3MT. Winning the online people’s choice award with 1800+ votes, was possible with the support of my family and online community who always were keen and supportive of my science communication videos. I am also grateful for the support I received from my supervisor, Dr Thiyagarajan, and lab members. As my area of research is related to climate change (ocean acidification), I felt extremely satisfied after communicating a strong message to public about how non-scientists can also contribute in the fight against climate change. I would like to use this opportunity to again stress the importance of reducing carbon footprint to combat climate change. If you are unaware of the term carbon footprint, I urge you to do a quick google search, educate yourself and join the fight against climate change!
Online People’s Choice Award Winner 
Ms Kanmani CHANDRA RAJAN
PhD, Faculty of Science

Overview

Date of Competition: June 23, 2020 (Tuesday)
Time: 3 – 4pm
Venue: Wang Gungwu Theatre, Graduate House, HKU
Video: https://youtu.be/nTSwl5RD4nQ

Programme

For enquiries, please contact KEO by email: keoffice@hku.hk 


Register HERE

Registration Deadline: 5pm on January 23, 2020 (NO late registrations will be accepted.)

Each registrant must also submit his/her primary supervisor’s completed endorsement form to the Knowledge Exchange Office by January 30, 2020 to complete the registration process. Submission beyond the deadline will NOT be accepted.

The following briefing session for the HKU 3MT 2020 has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances:

Date of Briefing Session: November 28, 2019 (Thursday)
Time: 12noon – 1pm
Venue: P6-03, Graduate House, HKU

Click here for the presentation notes.

Schedule of Presentations:

Videos of Candidates and Awardees

Members of the public, colleagues and students are cordially invited to vote for the most engaging presenter for the Online People’s Choice Award via YouTube until 1700hrs, July 2, 2020. You can vote for any one of the finalists below. The finalist with the most “LIKE” votes on YouTube will be awarded a book voucher of US$130.

Champion

Candidate No. 22

Ms Muyan WU
PhD
Faculty of Engineering

1st Runner-up

Candidate No. 19

Ms Jane RICHARDS
PhD
Faculty of Law

2nd Runner-up

Candidate No. 11

Ms Meng JIANG
PhD
Faculty of Dentistry

Online People's Choice Award Winner

Candidate No. 2

Ms Kanmani CHANDRA RAJAN
PhD
Faculty of Science

Candidate No. 10

Mr Abdullah HUSAIN
PhD
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine

Candidate No. 12

Mr Shing KAM
MPhil
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine

Candidate No. 16

Ms Nadine Nicole MUSCHETTE
PhD
Faculty of Education

Candidate No. 28

Mr Yage ZHANG
PhD
Engineering

Candidate No. 30

Ms Yueyuan ZHENG
MPhil
Social Sciences

News in Brief

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition 2020 of HKU was successfully held on June 23, 2020. This year, 20 PhD, MPhil and PD students participated in the competition, and 9 finalists were shortlisted to compete for 3 prizes decided by the adjudicating panel. The Online People’s Choice Award was awarded to the finalist who received the most ‘LIKE’ votes on YouTube after the competition.

The 3MT was developed by The University of Queensland, Australia in 2008. It is an academic competition that challenges RPg students to explain their research within 3 minutes to a general audience. 3MT celebrates the discoveries made by RPg students and encourages them to develop the skills to communicate the importance of their research to the broader community.

Ms Ada Tse, Independent Non-Executive Director of YangTse Foundation Limited, served on the adjudicating panel as our guest of honour. Internal members of the adjudicating panel included Professor John Bacon-Shone, Associate Director of the Knowledge Exchange Office (KEO), who served as the Chairman of the panel, Professor Frederick Leung, Dean of the Graduate School, and Dr Caroline Dingle of the School of Biological Sciences.

Congratulations to all the winners of the HKU 3MT Competition 2020. They are:

Champion
Name: Ms Muyan Wu
PhD candidate in the Faculty of Engineering
Presentation Title: An Efficient Way to Get Rid of Smells after Indoor Decoration
Primary Supervisor: Professor Dennis Yiu Cheong Leung

1st Runner-up 
Name: Ms Jane Richards
PhD candidate in the Faculty of Law
Presentation Title: Inclusion of Mental Disability in the Criminal Justice System
Primary Supervisor: Professor Simon Ngai Man Young

2nd Runner-up
Name: Ms Meng Jiang
PhD candidate in the Faculty of Dentistry
Presentation Title: Clinical Trial on Restoring Untreated and SDF-treated Dentine Caries Lesions
Primary Supervisor: Professor Edward Chin Man Lo

Online People’s Choice Award Winner
Name: Ms Kanmani Chandra Rajan
PhD candidate in the Faculty of Science
Presentation Title: How to Save Oysters from Ocean Acidification?
Primary Supervisor: Dr Thiyagarajan Vengatesen

The HKU 3MT Competition was jointly organised by the Graduate School and KEO.

Awardees and finalists at the HKU 3MT Competition 2020 with members of the adjudicating panel

(From left, back row)
Mr Shing Kam (finalist #12), Mr Yage Zhang (finalist #28), and Professor John Bacon-Shone

(From left, front row)
Mr Abdullah Husain (finalist #10), Dr Caroline Dingle, Ms Nadine Nicole Muschette (finalist #16), Ms Bernadette Tsui (Associate Vice-President (Development & Alumni Affairs) and Executive Director of HKU Foundation), Ms Ada Tse, Ms Jane Richards (1st Runner-up), Ms Muyan Wu (Champion), Ms Meng Jiang (2nd Runner-up), Professor Frederick Leung, and Ms Kanmani Chandra Rajan (finalist #2)

2020 Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition

Depending on the arrangements of the organisers of regional/international 3MT competitions in 2020, we will again try to arrange for a candidate of the HKU 3MT 2020, who meets the eligibility criteria set by the organiser concerned or hosting institution, to represent HKU at a regional or international 3MT competition. In case where the hosting institution or organiser concerned only allows PhD candidates to participate in its competition, the highest ranking PhD candidate may be given the chance to represent the University in that competition.

Photo Gallery