Three minutes, one slide: Telling the stories behind research

Three minutes isn't long. It's barely enough time to make a cup of coffee.

But for PhD students competing in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, it's all the time they have to explain years of research to a room full of people—with a single static slide and no specialist knowledge assumed.

Tergel Namsrai, from the ANU National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (NCEPH), won first place at the Australian National University 3MT Grand Final, after she and her fellow NCEPH PhD students Daisy Wang and Nihayatul Munaa swept the College of Law, Governance and Policy competition.

But behind all the practice, nerves and applause lies something more enduring than the competition itself.

For many researchers, being part of a 3MT is the first time they get asked not merely what they study, but why anyone else should care.

“I’ve always found it harder to explain my research simply than to talk about brains, sleep, or statistics,” says Tergel, who studies the association between sleep and brain health. 

“I knew it was important to communicate my research in a simple and concise way, but I did not really know how to do it well.”

So Tergel challenged herself by signing up for 3MT. “I figured opting out would be worse than failing,” she says.

After several workshops, rounds of feedback, and lots of practice, Tergel started to understand what effective science communication looks like.

As she thought less about explaining her research and more about telling the story behind it, Tergel found herself returning to someone who had inspired her from the beginning—her grandmother.

Tergel presenting "Can we age and stay sharp?" at the ANU 3MT Grand Final. Image: Jamie Kidston/ANU

“My grandmother is someone I deeply admire and hope to be like one day,” Tergel says, “She was fierce, witty, and kind, and lived through enormous changes in the world.”

Her grandmother became the centrepiece of the single slide she used for 3MT, and, from there, Tergel shared her journey into deciphering the role of sleep in neurodegeneration and cognitive decline.

“Finding a photo of her turned into a family project, with relatives in Mongolia searching through old albums,” she says, “It gave us a chance to reflect on our memories of her together.”

For Daisy, whose research explores how genomic sequencing can help track the spread of tuberculosis, 3MT offered an opportunity to step back from the technical details and rediscover the big picture.

“The PhD journey involves delving deep into your research topic and getting stuck in the weeds,” she says.

“3MT is an opportunity to take a step back from that and remember the bigger message, reflect on what motivated you in the first place, all while sharing your work in a creative way.”

Daisy's story took a different path. She cast herself as a disease detective using 21st-century genomic tools to tackle one of humanity's oldest infectious diseases.

Daisy presenting "Uncovering your deep dark secrets: what can I see from you TB?" at the ANU 3MT Grand Final. Image: Jamie Kidston/ANU

For Nihayatul, 3MT meant sharing a story that had been personal from the very beginning.

Her PhD research focuses on health insurance, and the chosen topic is deeply connected to her own family’s experience.

“My father passed away due to late treatment because we were struggling with medical bills,” she shares, “When my mother had the same illness, she survived because of the National Health Insurance program in Indonesia.”

So for her PhD, she is trying to figure out how Indonesia's public and private health insurance systems can work together to ensure universal health coverage.

To Nihayatul, the 3MT gave her the chance to turn her own experience into a story that, as she puts it, “shows why health policy matters in real life.”

The personal connection between her research and experience also shaped the message she hoped audiences would take away from her three-minute speech.

“Health insurance is never just about numbers and coverages. Behind every health system reform, there are real families and real lives affected by it,” she says.

Nihayatul presenting "Health insurance: Beyond coverage" at the ANU 3MT Grand Final. Image: Jamie Kidston/ANU

Although their research topics couldn't be more different on paper, all three students reached the same conclusion after days of practice: research can only create impact when people understand it.

“Effective science communication is key to creating impact,” Daisy says, “It's so important for all researchers to work on these skills to make sure the right messages are reaching the right people.”

“Health systems depend on public trust, policy support, and shared understanding,” Nihayatul says, “If we can make complex evidence accessible, it becomes easier to create meaningful change.”

“Even if you never plan to do science communication as part of your career, being able to tell the story of your research is a valuable skill,” echoes Tergel, “The process forces you to think about what really matters in your research—and how to explain it clearly.”

Perhaps that's the real challenge of the 3MT, and why all three of them recommend PhD students to take the leap when chances come.

It’s not just about compressing years of work into 180 seconds, but discovering that behind every hypothesis, dataset and statistical analysis is ultimately a story about people—and how research can make their lives better.