On 24 April 2020, the institutional final of the Coimbra Group 3-Minute-Thesis took place for the first time at the Jagiellonian University (CG 3MT JU). This year’s edition of the competition was held under the auspices of the Rector of the Jagiellonian University Prof. Wojciech Nowak.
The competition was co-organized by the JU Association of Doctoral Students, represented by its head Paweł Kupis and deputy head Joanna Świt. The organization was also supervised by representatives of the Jagiellonian University at the Coimbra Group (CG): Prof. Dorota Malec, JU Vice-Rector for University Development, Dr Aneta Lipińska, representative at the CG Doctoral Studies working group, and Dorota Maciejowska, representative of the JU at CG and Chair of the CG Academic Exchange and Mobility group. In the field of language competence and the art of presentation, the competition was supervised by Dr Monika Stawicka, representing the Jagiellonian Language Center.
The rules of competitions organized around the world under the name 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) were developed in 2008 at the University of Queensland in Australia. Since 2017, the Coimbra Group - a network of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Europe - has been running the final of the 3MT competition at its annual general meeting.
At the CG 3MT, PhD students present their research concept during a 3-minute presentation in English, using only one slide. Attractive prizes are planned for the top three contenders, including trips for monthly research stays to a selected university affiliated with the Coimbra Group. In addition, the winner of the CG 3MT JU has the opportunity to represent the Jagiellonian University during the international competition finals at one of the CG universities. This year's final is scheduled for June at the University of Montpelier, however, due to exceptional circumstances related to the pandemic, it will probably take place at a different time.
The final of the competition at the Jagiellonian University was conducted online. The jury consisted of the JU Vice-Rector for University Development Prof. Dorota Malec, JU Vice-Rector for Research, Prof. Stanisław Kistryn, JU Vice-Rector for Educational Affairs, Prof. Armen Edigarian, Dr Monika Stawicka from the Jagiellonian Language Center, and Paweł Kupis, Head of the JU Association of Doctoral Students.
Nine participants selected in the preliminaries that took place in March this year participated in the final at the Jagiellonian University. After the first stage of the competition, the finalists attended specially designed workshops on the art of presentation and linguistic preparation of public speeches. The workshops were conducted by Dr Aneta Lipińska from the JU Faculty of Management and Social Communication and Dr Monika Stawicka, a teacher at the Jagiellonian Language Center. Dr Lipińska presented the finalists with the possibilities of creating interesting and meaningful slides and infographics that can be effectively memorised by the audienece and visually support the presented concept, whereas Dr Stawicka conducted individual talks with the participants, aimed at improving their final presentations.
The winner of first place in the Jagiellonian University final was Dominika Werońska, PhD student at the JU Doctoral School in the Humanities, who presented her research concept entitled "Mapping Literature. Where Sciences and Humanities meet. " Second place was taken by Julia Ząber, PhD student at the JU Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences, presenting her scientific work entitled “Small molecules in immunotherapy”. The tie for third place went to Anitha Ravishankar, PhD student at the JU Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Science, presenting the research concept entitled "Beauty and (or) a Beast: Forecasting Space Weather", and Simona Sienkiewicz, PhD student at the JU Faculty of International and Political Studies of the Jagiellonian University, who presented her research entitled "Mobility and immobility in heterogenous societies - crossing geographical borders with cultural limitation".
Participation in the competition, apart from the possibility of winning valuable prizes, allowed the PhD students to master the art of academic public speaking, as well as face the difficult challenge of presenting the research concept in just three minutes with only one slide available. It is hoped that the success of this competition will make it a permanent part the annual calendar of events at the Jagiellonian University.
