Who is the best research communicator?

The PhD students who will participate in 3TM will all received training in rhetoric and body language prior to the competition, so they’re prepared to deliver a razor-sharp, vivid presentation of their research. Here, Linda Greve, head of promotions at the Science Museums, shows how to stem nervousness before a performance with a simple ‘power pose’. Photo: Project Manager Katrine Boserup Jensen

25 February 2022 by Ida Hammerich Nielson

Present your research to a general audience in a dynamic and easily understandable way in three minutes with only one slide.

That’s the challenge facing the 21 AU PhD students who’ll be presenting their research in Three Minute Thesis (3MT) on 17 March, from 16:00 to 18:30. You can attend the competition in person at Stakladen or online – and you can help decide which PhD student will receive the audience award.

The PhD students are from all five faculties at AU. One of the participants is Anne Lundahl Mauritsen from the Department of the Study of Religion at the School of Culture and Society. She’s participating in 3MT to become better at communicating her research to the general public – one of a researcher’s most important core skills:

“As a PhD student, I’m still studying to become a researcher, and this opportunity to receive feedback on my research communication from professional, skilled speakers is a privilege and a chance to improve myself,” says Anne Lundahl Mauritsen, who will present a new way of understanding cultural Christianity in Denmark.

Participate as an audience member at the competition
The winner of 3MT at AU will be given a spot in the European finals, in which more than 35 European universities will participate – as well as a travel grant of DKK 35,000. The university alliance Coimbra Group, to which AU belongs, is behind the 3MT competition.

The winner will be chosen by this year’s jury, which consists of Associate Professor Ditlev Egeskov Brodersen from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Associate Professor Christian Ulrik Andersen from the School of Communication and Culture, PhD student Kristoffer Holst Ibsen (chair of Aarhus University’s PhD Association) as well as AU’s head of communications and press Sys Christina Vestergaard. An audience choice award will also be presented.

Sign up for the in-person event
Sign up for the online event

Read more about 3MT. Here you’ll also find a list of participants.