Studies

Three-Minute Thesis

2024 EDITION 

February 6th, is a deadline to send your presentation to etudes.superieures@polymtl.ca
Internal selection competition : March 28, 2024 at 12h45 - Amphithéâtre Bernard-Lamarre

Come and defy the stopwatch to present their thesis in a 180 seconds – also known as the Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.
The Polytechnique community is invited to vote for their favourite presentation!

> You can now see their presentations - and talents!

"The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an internationally recognized competition for thesis-based graduate students in which participants present their scholarly and creative activity and its wider impact in 3 minutes or less."

The competition offers a unique opportunity for graduate students from all disciplines, pushing them to consolidate their ideas and crystallize their research discoveries while communicating across disciplines within the university and to the broader public. Presenting in a 3MT® competition increases the capacity of graduate students to effectively explain their scholarly and creative activity in a clear and concise manner, and in a language appropriate to a general audience.

Polytechnique hopes to repeat the feat this year by sending its best presenter to compete against those from other participating Canadian universities universities in the final, May 15, 2024, held by the Association francophone pour le savoir (Acfas) during the 91st Acfas Congress at the University of Ottawa.

Polytechnique is also taking part in the English-language Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition organized by the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS). Therefore, there will be an internal competition in French and one in English at Polytechnique.

La Direction des affaires académiques et de l'expérience étudiante (DAAEE) and the Association des étudiants des cycles supérieurs de Polytechnique (AÉCSP), Polytechnique’s graduate student association, are organizing the internal selection competition for Polytechnique students. The competition winners will be determined by a jury composed of Polytechnique’s faculty members and Québec’s science media.

For each version of the competition (French/English), the prizes are:

  • 1st prize: $500 and entrance into the finals at Acfas (French) and ACES (English)
  • 2nd prize: $250
  • 3rd prize: $150
  • The audience choice award: $250 gift card from the AÉCSP

Dates to remember  : 

Registration Deadline : Tuesday, 6 February 2024.
Internal selection competition : Thursday, 28 March 2024, Amphithéâtre Bernard-Lamarre.

Regional Final Competition : Wednesday, 15 May 2024, National final organized as part of the 91st Acfas Congress. 
National Final (ACES) : Friday, 7 June 2024, Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) in Québec.

For any questions or to sign up: etudes.superieures@polymtl.ca

 

Experience feedback

SHIRI VARUNFirst prize 2023

Varun Shiri
Increasing Privacy Awareness: Enhancing Mobile App Users’ Motivation to Adopt Privacy Protecting Practices
Computer Engineering

Why did you decide to take part in the "My thesis in 180 seconds" competition?
I have been into public speaking since a young age and have participated in a number of oratory competitions. When I saw a competition that combined this passion of mine with a chance to share my research to a larger audience, I knew I had to give it a shot! The concept of condensing and vulgarizing your research so that people with different backgrounds can understand it easily was an interesting challenge to me.

What could you say to encourage the more "shy" to take part in the competition?
More people than you can imagine experience stage fright, even Adele! So don't let that hold you back. I think that the 3MT competition is a great opportunity to build your soft skills, which are so important in today's world. Practice as much as you can with people you know, and at the end of the day, it's going to be a worthwile experience! Trust me.

How was your research topic inspired?
My research topic was decided in discussion with my research supervisor and other collaborators from McGill University. We initially did some research around information privacy in mobile applications and discovered that increasing privacy awareness and motivating users to attend to their privacy was a major challenge that needed to be addressed.

If you had to dedicate your research to someone from the past, present orfuture, who would it be and why?
I would dedicate my research to my parents and sister, who have supported me through every step of my journey here. They are the reason I am in this capacity as a researcher today. On a broader level, my research is dedicated to every smartphone user (which is basically more than 86% of the world’s population), as I hope to help users stay safe online and protect their valuable data.

3 key words to define your thesis
Privacy, privacy awareness, design

>>> More Details

 

WHAT DO YOU TALK ABOUT FOR THREE MINUTES?

You don’t necessarily need to be at the end of your doctoral process to take part. Your doctoral project must simply be sufficiently advanced such that the problem is clearly defined. It is not necessary to present results.

You must introduce your research topic and explain the concepts of ideas in accessible language (your family should finally understand what you’re doing!). Demonstrate your passion for your research topic.

WHY TAKE PART?

The Ma thèse en 180 secondes / Three-Minute Thesis competition provides you with a unique opportunity to polish your communication skills, while also giving you the chance to talk about your research in a public space. The presentations given at the university finals will be filmed and posted online. As well, it’s an excellent showcase for the media. For example, after winning in 2015, Odile Vekemans was interwied on the show L'invité on TV5MONDE+ and on the show Les années lumière on ICI Radio-Canada. After winning in 2014, Sami Hached was able to share his passion for his research work in Québec Science magazine, Le Journal de Montréal and on the show Les années lumière on ICI Radio-Canada.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR THE ACFAS COMPETITION (FRENCH)
  • The presentation must be given in French.
  • You must be enrolled or have been enrolled in a doctoral research program for the current school year or have earned your doctorate during this school year.
  • You must not have won a jury prize or audience choice award at a preceding edition of the national finals Ma thèse en 180 secondes / Three-Minute Thesis.
  • You must be available to compete in the national finals and the preparatory meeting, which will take place during the Acfas conference.
  • Present a sufficiently defined PhD project.
  • If you're one of the winners selected by the jury of the national finals to participate in the international final, you must be available and present at the international final and activities connected to it.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR THE CAGS COMPETITION (ENGLISH)
  • Graduate students should conduct their presentation in English. 
  • Full-time Master’s or Ph.D. students registered in thesis-based programs and in good standing are eligible to participate (including thesis under submission).
  • Graduate students in course-based programs, visiting students, exchange students, and students on leave are not eligible to participate.
  • Graduate students at any stage of their program are eligible to participate.
  • Graduate students who have convocated are not eligible to participate. Graduate students who have already defended their thesis but have not yet convocated are eligible to participate. 
  • Presentations must be based on the primary research the graduate student has conducted in their graduate program.
  • Anyone undertaking a professional/named/higher doctorate is not eligible.
  • Graduate students must present in person, agree to be photographed and digitally recorded, and allow any recordings to be made public. 
  • Twelve contestants from the three regional competitions will compete for the National 3MT title.
  • Winners of Canada’s 3MT agree to be available for publicity and media interviews in the period following the announcement.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL FINALS - ACFAS (FRENCH)

For ACFAS Competition
National Finals : May 15th, 2024 at Ottawa.
International Finals : Fall 2024, hosted by the Agence Université de la Francophonie as part of the Semaine Mondiale de la Francophonie Scientifique (dates and venue to be announced).

For GACS Competition
Informations is coming soon.