StFX graduate student Enoch Abotsi won both the first place and the people’s choice award while fellow grad student Patrick Bowen finished in second place as StFX hosted its second Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) event on March 25th. The internationally recognized competition for thesis-based graduate students sees participants present their scholarly and creative activity and its wider impact in three minutes or less.
The challenge is to present complex research in an accessible and compelling way with the assistance of one static slide.
Mr. Abotsi, who is completing his PhD in Boreal Ecosystems and Agricultural Sciences under the supervision of StFX human nutrition professor and Canada Research Chair Dr. Marcia English, presented his research, “Should I stay, or should I go?: When plant proteins bind with flavours!”
Patrick Bowen is a MSc. in Computer Science student, supervised by computer science professor Dr. Milton King. His research presentation focused on “Debiasing Large Language Models for Rural Populations.”
As the winner of the StFX 3MT competition, Mr. Abotsi will advance to the 2025 Eastern Regional 3MT Competition, hosted by Memorial University on June 4th. The top two finalists from here advance to the 2025 National 3MT Showcase in Ottawa on November 6. The winner of this competition advances to the North American 3MT Championship.
The 3MT competition is an opportunity for graduate students to showcase and develop confidence in their research communication skills. It is also a platform to highlight the innovative research that students are engaged in at StFX, says organizer and StFX human nutrition professor and Canada Research Chair, Dr. Marcia English.
The competition started in 2008 at the University of Queensland and is held in many countries today. Participating students are challenged to consolidate their ideas and explain their research discoveries. Using a single slide students have three minutes to explain to a panel of judges how and why their research is important, innovative, and exciting.
Learning to communicate research succinctly to a broad audience is an important academic skill that can be developed when students participate in the 3MT competition. The event also provides a unique and engaging platform to learn about the research that other graduate students at the university are involved in.
StFX Associate Vice-President Research, Graduate and Professional Studies (interim), Dr. Karen Brebner says the competition was a resounding success.
“Thanks to Dr. Marcia English in the Department of Human Nutrition, StFX was able to host our second annual 3 Minute Thesis Competition. Our graduate students were fantastic at summarizing their thesis projects in three minutes using just one slide! All 10 presenters were very impressive,” she says.
Thesis-based graduate students were invited to use the opportunity to showcase their research and its significance to a general audience in an engaging manner during the event held in Mulroney Hall.
Cash prizes were awarded for first ($250), second ($150), and the people’s choice ($100) award.
Essential to the success of the 3MT competition is the participation of judges, Dr. English says. This year, four faculty members served as judges at the event: two new judges, Dr. Erin Mazerolle (Department of Psychology), and Dr. Ruth Harvie (Department of Human Nutrition); and two returning judges Dr. Ornella Nzindukiyimana (Department of Human Kinetics); and Dr. Jessie McNichol (Department of Biology).
Dr. English says a big thank you also goes to Jacqueline Beaton from the Research Office, James Okner from Media Services, and Warren Robertson of Marketing & Communications, for their assistance.
The complete list of participates:
Isaac Olowojaiye (MSc. Biology)
Kulani De Larrinaga (Master of Arts Celtic Studies)
Emily Mansour-Hemlow (PhD Educational Studies)
Patrick Bowen (MSc. Computer Science)
AJ Traughber (MSc. Biology)
Yaseen Ginnab (MSc. Biology)
Janelle Boudreau (Master of Adult Education)
Jona L. Pedersen (MSc. Biology)
Enoch Abotsi (PhD, BEAS)
Isabelle Hoversten (MSc. Biology)
