3MT® is a skills development activity which challenges graduate students to present their research and its wider impact to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes using only one slide.
The 2025 University of Windsor Competition will be held on Tuesday, April 1, 2025 in Alumni Auditorium (2nd floor of the CAW student centre) with a Preliminary round in the morning starting at 9:30a.m. and the Finals in the afternoon at 1:30p.m.
The 1st Place Winner will represent the University of Windsor at the provincial final, to be held at the University of Toronto on May 14, 2025 (all travel expenses covered).
The entire University of Windsor 2025 competition will be held on April 1st, 2025 in Alumni Auditorium (2nd floor of the CAW student centre):
- Preliminary round: 9:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.
- Final - starting at 1:30 p.m.
Prizes:
1st Place: $1000 cash and will represent the University of Windsor at the provincial final to be held at the University of Toronto campus on May 14, 2025 (all travel expenses covered).
2nd Place:
- Prize: $500 cash
3rd Place:
- Prize: $250 cash
- must be a current Doctoral or Master's student registered for Winter term 2025 in a dissertation, thesis or major research paper;
- must be available to present in person on the day of the UWindsor competition (April 1, 2025) as well as the Provincial competition (May 14, 2025);
- must have made substantial progress on research and analysis based on the research supervisor’s determination.
It is also strongly recommended that UWindsor contestants attend the Information and coaching session on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 from 12p.m. noon to 2p.m. in CEI - room 2101.
Registration for the 2025 competition is now closed. Come support your fellow students who will compete on April 1st in Alumni Auditorium, on the 2nd floor of the CAW student centre.
- A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted.
- PowerPoint slide should be created using an aspect ratio of 16:9
- No slide transitions, animations or movement of any description are allowed; the slide is to be presented from the beginning of the oration
- No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) is permitted
- No additional props are permitted (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment)
- Presentations are limited to three minutes maximum; competitors exceeding three minutes are disqualified
- Presentations are to be delivered in regular prose (e.g. no poems, slam poetry, raps, songs, or spoken word presentations)
- Presentations must commence from and remain on the stage
- Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter initiates either movement or speech.
- The decision of the judging panel is final
- The competition will be administered in English.
Communication
- Did the presenter use non-verbal communication (i.e. eye contact, voice modulation, body language) effectively?
- Did the presenter use language and terminology that was clear, jargon-free, and understandable to a general audience?
- Did the presentation follow a logical sequence?
- Did the presenter spend adequate time on each element of their presentation? Did they elaborate for too long on one aspect, or did the presentation feel rushed?
Comprehension
- Did the talk help you to understand the scholarly research being undertaken?
- Did the presenter clearly outline the nature and purpose of their research?
- Did the presenter clearly indicate the fascinating or compelling aspects of their research?
- Did the presentation provide an understanding of the background and significance to the research question being addressed?
- Did the presentation clearly describe the impact and/or results of the research, including conclusions and outcomes?
Engagement
- Was the talk engaging?
- Did the presenter capture and maintain the audience's attention?
- Did the presenter convey enthusiasm for their work?
- Was the presenter careful not to trivialise or generalise their research?
- Did the talk inspire you to want to know more?
- Did the PowerPoint slide enhance, rather than detract from, their presentation – was it clear, legible, and concise?
It is strongly recommended that UWindsor contestants attend the Information and coaching session on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 from 12p.m. noon to 2p.m. in CEI, room 2101.
The 3MT competition is widely known and there are variety of resources online, including videos of past Winners' presentations.
Review also past University of Windsor competition recordings posted on this webpage.
Past University of Windsor 3MT® Competitions (2013 to 2024) - results and videos:
UWindsor competition: watch the videorecording of the University of Windsor 3MT® Competition Final held on April 9, 2024.
Provincial FINAL: watch the recording from the Ontario 3MT Provincial final on May 8, 2024
2024 University of Windsor Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition results:
1st Place: Samra Khan
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
"Sugar-coated cancer vaccines for 'sweet' adaptive oncoimmunology"
- Prize: $1000 cash and represented the University of Windsor at the provincial final at Lakehead University on May 8, 2024.
2nd Place: Carly Demers
Department of Integrative Biology
"Bug-Eat-Bug World: Assessing two Canadian Dicyphus species (Hemiptera: Miridae) for their potential as novel greenhouse biological control agents"
- Prize: $500 cash
3rd Place: Karla Alnajm
Department of Biomedical Sciences
"Unmasking Breast Cancer: How Removing One Protein Boosts Immunity"
- Prize: $250 cash
1st Place: Grace Bastien, Biological Sciences: “Bird predation and 'the grapes of wrath'“
Prize: $1000 cash and represent the University of Windsor at the Ontario 3MT® virtual competition final in November 2020.
2nd Place: Umama Jutt, English Language and Literature: “This pot and kettle are white”
Prize: $500 cash
3rd Place: Victoria Heath, Biological Sciences: “The Solution to sea lamprey: Sound”
Prize: $250 cash
Watch all 3MT® Finalist presentations:
(in alphabetical order)
1. Sami Al-Terkawi Hasib, Electrical and Computer Engineering: “Do outlets dream of electric ants?”
2. Grace Bastien, Biological Sciences: “Bird predation and 'the grapes of wrath' “
3. Chaoyang Chu, Civil and Environmental Engineering: “Bridge to the future: how computer vision fills in the gaps”
4. Nehal Faldu, Mechanical, Automotive & Materials Engineering: ”Nanotechnology, where Small is Big”
5. Nupur Gupta, Mechanical, Automotive & Materials Engineering: "A breath of fresh air"
6. Victoria Heath, Biological Sciences: “The Solution to sea lamprey: Sound”
7. Umama Jutt, English Language and Literature: “This pot and kettle are white”
8. Mostafa Moussa, Mechanical, Automotive & Materials Engineering: “When needed as needed”
9. Jay Nagarajan, Electrical and Computer Engineering:" Piezoelectric Micromachined Sensors"
10. Kathyani Parasram, Biological Sciences: “The life and time of Drosophila melanogaster”
11. Maryam Shafiei Alavijeh, Mechanical, Automotive & Materials Engineering: “Better safe than sorry, Our goal: Canada's gas pipelines with zero defects!”
12. Anushray Singh, School of Creative Arts (MFA Film & Media Arts): “I am South Asian as well as a Western resident....but at times neither of them”
The University of Windsor Three-minute Thesis Competition 3MT® was held on March 25, 2019.
Results:
1st Place: Katrina Switzer
Doctoral student, Biological Sciences
“Don't call me mellow yellow: stress and colour in a tropical toad”
Prize: $1000 cash and represent the University of Windsor at the Ontario 3MT® competition final at McMaster University on Wednesday, April 17, 2019.
2nd Place: Kiirsti Owen
Master’s student, Biological Sciences
“How do birds respond when we regrow the forests around them?”
Prize: $500 cash
3rd Place: John Freer
Doctoral student, Education
“Removing another brick from the wall: deconstructing attitudinal barriers to inclusive education”
Prize: $250 cash
List of all presentations:
Presenter #1: Danilo Corral-De-Witt
Doctoral student, Electrical and Computer Engineering
“Smart spectrum access for open wireless services”
Presenter #2: Kaitav Mehta
Master’s student, Computer Science
“This creepy person doesn't exist”
Presenter #3: John Freer
Doctoral student, Education
“Removing another brick from the wall: deconstructing attitudinal barriers to inclusive education”
Presenter #4: Jessica Chu
Master’s student, Nursing
“E-Professionalism in Nursing students”
Presenter #5: Zarreen Naowal Reza
Master’s student, Computer Science
“Weld quality control using artificial intelligence”
Presenter #6: Israt Jahan
Master’s student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
“Modeling bacterial loading into Lake St. Clair: keep swimmers safe”
Presenter #7: Ramya Ravichandran
Master’s student, Computer Science
“Every problem has a solution - but which one?”
Presenter #8: Tanja Samardzic
Master’s student, Psychology
“#ProTip: don’t talk”
Presenter #9: Baturh Yarkwan
Doctoral student, Chemistry and Biochemistry
“Glorifying the outcast: soybean waste used in treating water pollution”
Presenter #10: Xiaoyang Zhang
Master’s student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
“Can pesticides in water be removed by agricultural by-product?”
Presenter #11: Kiirsti Owen
Master’s student, Biological Sciences
“How do birds respond when we regrow the forests around them?”
Presenter #12: Niwit Aryal
Master’s student, Electrical and Computer Engineering
“Can you afford a self-driving car?”
Presenter #13: Sidra Anis
Master’s student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
“The more the merrier? New border crossing in Windsor, Ontario”
Presenter #14: Katrina Switzer
Doctoral student, Biological Sciences
“Don't call me mellow yellow: stress and colour in a tropical toad”
Presenter #15: Allison Gray
Doctoral student, Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology
“Eating meat without animals for the planet”
Presenter #16: Yuehua Zhu
Master’s student, Education
“Political participation: a pathway to improve English language proficiency”.
The University of Windsor competition was held on March 26, 2018.
The winners were chosen out of 6 finalists from two heats of 20 contestants.
1st Place: Ian Thomas
Master’s student, Biological Sciences
“Birdsong and the roots of human language”
2nd Place: Liza-Anastasia DiCecco
Master’s student, Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering
“Move over plastic, we're 3D printing titanium”
3rd Place: Ingrid Qemo
Doctoral student, Biological Sciences
“Brain stem cells: is too much or too little of a good thing, a bad thing?”
1st Place: Travis DeWolfe, Chemistry and Biochemistry: “Supercomputers against superbugs”
2nd Place: Christopher Cameron, English Language, Literature and Creative Writing: “There and back again”
3rd Place: Mary Ann Zokvic, Human Kinetics: “Putting a squeeze on heart disease”
View results from the 2017 National Competition
1st Place: Jeremy Johnston, Master’s student, Department of English Language, Literature and Creative Writing, "Wait, you feel that, too?"
Prize: $1,000 cash and represent the University of Windsor at the Ontario provincial final at Wilfrid Laurier University on April 14, 2016
Runner-up: Krithika Muthukumaran, Doctoral student, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, “One brain to rule them all”
Prize: $500 cash
People's Choice: Zainab Bazzi, Doctoral student, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, “Fighting the spread: TAFI as an anti-cancer superhero”
Prize: $250 cash
1st Place: Anna Crater-Potter, Doctoral student, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, "Please leave a message"
Prize: $1,000 cash and represent the University of Windsor at the Ontario 3MT final held at Western University on April 23, 2015 - check out videorecording and photos of the provincial Final.
Runner-up: Katherine Balasingham, Master's student, Department of Biological Sciences, "Fishing for DNA"
Prize: $500 cash
People's Choice: Anna Crater-Potter, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, "Please leave a message"
Prize: $250 cash
1st Place: Yasina Somani, Master’s student, Department of Kinesiology, "Getting a grip on high blood pressure with a novel treatment".
Yasina received a $1,000 cash prize and represented Windsor in the second provincial competition at McMaster University on April 24, 2014.
2nd Place: Michael Holmes, Doctoral student, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, "How a hairpin could save your life".
Prize: $500 cash
People's Choice Award: Michael Holmes, Doctoral student, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, "How a hairpin could save your life". Prize: $250 cash
Watch a recording of the finalist presentations on our Youtube channel
1st Place: Chris Allan (Chemistry and Biochemistry): "From your TV to the lab: exploring the reactivity of indium
2nd Place: Rebecca Williams (Biological Sciences): "Great Lakes Undercover: Can Fish Evolve to Survive Pollution?
People’s Choice award: Heather Filiatrault (Chemistry and Biochemistry): "Stretchable Electronics Cast in a New Light