UBC thesis winner advances to western regionals

Miriam Grant, left, congratulates UBC Okanagan 3MT winner Mike Unrau.

The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies will have a seat at the table when UBC Okanagan hosts the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Western Regional competition in April.

PhD candidate Mike Unrau’s thesis presentation "Scared Speechless" was voted best of the eight candidates who competed for top spot at the UBC Okanagan finals on March 10.

Unrau’s thesis focuses on the impact that habits have on creativity.

“The 3MT is a unique tool to showcase the incredible research of our graduate students on this campus,” says Miriam Grant, Vice-Provost and Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. “We are very proud of the winner, the finalists and all who participated in the heats leading up to our final competition.”

The 3MT competition was first developed by the University of Queensland in Australia in 2008. The competition challenges higher-degree research students to present a compelling, plain-language explanation of their thesis in three minutes. Aside from the use of one slide, no props or aids are permitted in students' presentations.

Up to 17 of Western Canada’s most accomplished graduate students will be at UBC Okanagan for the Western Regional 3MT Competition on April 29. The three top finalists from that competition will go on to compete nationally.

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