3 Minute Thesis Competition 2024
3 Minute Thesis Competition
Thursday 6 June 2024
Doors open from 5pm, with the event starting promptly at 5.30pm
5.30 - 7.30pm
G.03 Lecture Theatre, Little Titchfield Street
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia (threeminutethesis.uq.edu.au).
The competition gives doctoral researchers a chance to communicate the importance of their research beyond their discipline and their peers — in three minutes, with no notes and with only one slide.
It’s a brilliant opportunity to hear about the research done by some of our doctoral researchers and to support those taking part.
This year’s participants are: Jacqueline Grainger, Howard H. Lukk, Ifigeneia Kalampouka, Natalia Lara, Nodira Nazyrova, Inma Pedregosa, and Soumya Sharma.
The winner will be chosen by our invited panel of judges and will be entered into the national Vitae competition.
This year’s judges are: Catherine Loveday, Luke Robert Mason, and Caroline Watkinson.
Attendees will also have a chance to vote for their favourite in the People’s Vote. Do come along and support your peers and vote for your favourite.
Meet the Participants...
Jacqueline (Jacqui) Grainger
Jacqueline (Jacqui) Grainger is a PhD student in the History department at the University of Westminster. They were awarded a Techne AHRC CDA in 2020. Their research explores the history of the United Service Museum, a ‘lost’ museum, which opened in 1831 and closed in 1962. It draws on their experience of managing and promoting heritage collections in the UK and Australia, and their interest in the history of collections and collecting.
Howard H. Lukk
Howard H. Lukk is currently working on his PhD at the University of Westminster in Creative Media where he is researching the effect of technology on the creative aspects of Opera. Through his academic journey he has received an MPhil from the University of Cambridge in Film and Screen Studies and a BA in Film and Media with a minor in Theatre from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Alongside his studies, he has been working as a writer, director and editor for films and theatre while also being involved creating music in various rock bands. He is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), a Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers (SMPTE) Fellow and holds patents in computational cinematography.
Ifigeneia Kalampouka
Having worked as a researcher in Quantum Biology, Ifigeneia Kalampouka’s passion for the field’s unlimited possibilities led her to pursue a PhD. Now in her final months, her thesis explores the interaction between light and biological systems. She explores light from extracellular sources, like the field of Photobiomodulation, and light emitted from biological organisms for communication. She aims to harness this light for innovative non-invasive diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Beyond a scientist, she is a travel enthusiast, yogi, runner, and finds inspiration in all forms of art.
Natalia Lara
Natalia Lara is a second-year doctoral researcher in Humanities at the University of Westminster, London. Her research considers language and gender in professional kitchens. She has worked in various sectors of the hospitality industry for over a decade and is dedicated to furthering her career by becoming a lecturer.
Nodira Nazyrova
Nodira Nazyrova is a third-year PhD researcher in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Westminster, London, focusing on healthcare analytics. Her research focuses on predicting and understanding hospital re-admissions among elderly patients. Using artificial intelligence, she analyses comprehensive patient data spanning demographics, medical history, treatments, lab results, and discharge notes. Her goal is to develop predictive models to help doctors foresee readmissions and intervene early, ultimately improving patient outcomes. She is passionate about applying AI to healthcare challenges, driven by the potential to make a real impact on patient care.
Inma Pedregosa
Inma Pedregosa is a fourth-year PhD student in the School of Humanities. She researches audio-descriptive commentary (ADC). For blind and partially sighted fans, ADC is the aspect that improves their match-going experience the most. However not all clubs offer this service and not all ADC provides as much access as it could. Because ADC varies from country to country, exploring how ADC varies in different cultures will likely be her next line of research.
Soumya Sharma
Soumya Sharma is a first-year doctoral researcher at the School of Life Sciences. Prior to this, she completed a BSc in Biotechnology, Biochemistry, and Genetics, and completed a Masters in Applied Biotechnology. She has also gained experience as a junior research associate in India. Her research focuses on the development of sustainable antibacterial/antiviral coatings for surfaces with potential application in medical and non-medical sectors. Beside her academic pursuits, she works as a sustainability outreach leader at Cavendish Living Lab. Outside of work, she enjoys dancing and experimenting with cooking.
Meet the Judges
Catherine Loveday
Catherine Loveday has been at the University of Westminster for over 30 years and is a strong advocate of Westminster’s progressive, inclusive, compassionate and outward facing ethos. Her research focusses on the functions of human memory and in particular on the way that memories are formed, accessed and lost. She is author of “The Secret World of the Brain”, and is passionate about encouraging public engagement with science, appearing regularly at festivals, as well as writing for the media and making regular appearances on BBC Radio 4’s All In The Mind and many other radio and TV programmes
Luke Robert Mason
Luke Robert Mason is a futures theorist who studies the technological developments that will alter what it means to be human. He is the host of the FUTURES Podcast where he explores the topics of artificial intelligence, human enhancement, space travel and virtual reality. Throughout his career, he has interviewed hundreds of the world’s most influential thinkers on their visions for the future. These insights have informed his collaborations with innovators in the fields of advanced science, emerging technology, and the arts; and have provided him with a unique perspective on the world of tomorrow. He is currently an ESRC-funded postgraduate student at the University of Warwick where he is studying towards a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on the public perception of humanoid robots.
Caroline Watkinson
Dr Caroline Watkinson manages the Researcher Development programme for postgraduate research students and early career researchers at the University of East London (UEL) where she teaches sessions on research theories, methodologies, commercialisation of research, and academic skills. She is especially interested in the public communication of real-world research and the embedding of EDI into employability programmes for doctoral students. She has been involved with Three Minute Thesis for several years now and oversees UEL’s 3MT competition. Caroline studied for her PhD in History at the University of Westminster and has since contributed to the Education Abroad programme of taught courses. She has previously taught Heritage, Cultural Studies, and Art History at various HEIs and currently teaches courses on feminist art history. Caroline researches the cultural politics and pedagogic praxis of gender and her present articles explore the role of women and femininities in architecture and urban planning (Charrette, Journal of Femininities). She is currently co-writing a monograph on the politics of UK literary heritage.
