Six Years to Three Minutes

I came late to postgraduate research. I completed my BA in Experimental Psychology in 1993 and immediately followed it with an MPhil in Criminology. I enjoyed academia and research, but I wanted some real-world experience so after a brief spell as a research assistant, I joined the Prison Service as a psychologist. I started my part-time PhD in September 2020 alongside a part-time job in a secure psychiatric hospital.

I had seen the three-minute thesis (3MT) competition advertised previously and thought it sounded intriguing. I enjoy the challenge of presenting ideas clearly and concisely, and I am not scared of public speaking, so it felt like something I would enjoy. At earlier stages of my part-time PhD I did not feel that I yet had a full story to tell about my research. But now, in year six, I could no longer put it off!

Signing up was just the start of the process. There were many stages: watching videos of previous competitors and working through the Canvas course; drafting some initial ideas for a script and image; attending a workshop on presentation skills; drafting a full script and designing my slide; seeking feedback and refining the script and image; learning the script and practising (including at work with my colleagues); taking part in the semi-finals; further refining and practising; and taking part in the final.

I found the whole process very beneficial. Writing and refining my script and designing my slide made me think about the story of my research and its impact. I needed to draw on my strengths and work hard to ensure that my writing and performance were the best that they could be on the day. I needed to “over-learn” the script so that I could concentrate on delivering it really well without struggling to remember it, and at 54 I don’t remember things quite as easily as I did! Feedback from the workshop, from the mock competition (which I was unable to attend, but I was kindly offered feedback on a video instead) and from the semi-finals was really constructive and helped me to improve. My aim was to progress to the finals, which I did with some lovely positive feedback from the judges. And then I was awarded joint judges’ runner up at the final!

I enjoyed attending the workshop, semi-finals and finals on campus. As a part-time, mature PhD student, I do most of my research at a distance and rarely visit Birmingham. It was lovely to meet the other competitors and to learn about their projects. By the time of the finals, we felt like a cohesive group. I was probably the oldest member of the group but I felt that I had met some new friends, especially when some of them later requested to connect with me on LinkedIn. The presentations covered a very wide range of topics but they were all interesting and engaging.

I would definitely recommend the competition to others!