UCF hosts sixth annual Three Minute Thesis event, showcasing graduate students’ research | News

The audience witnessed the power of concise research by the master’s and doctoral students as they presented in just three minutes on Wednesday.

Elizabeth A. Klonoff, vice provost and dean of the College of Graduate Studies, said the main objective of the event is to help participants effectively communicate their research in a relatable manner, ensuring that people understand the significance and process of their work. It serves as a platform for students to showcase their thesis and dissertations.

“It forces you to talk with us about what your thesis is and what you are working on in a way that is just not for your colleagues who can understand those things that are important to you, but in a way that even I can understand what you are doing,” Klonoff said.

Nathalia Bauer, assistant director of Graduate Thesis and Dissertation of the College of Graduates Studies, said the winners will have the opportunity to represent UCF at regional and statewide competitions.

Bauer said the 3MT competition originated from the University of Queensland in Australia and has now expanded to over 900 institutions worldwide, including every state in the United States.

Klonoff said the 3MT is an important event, she said it offers UCF master’s and doctoral students a valuable opportunity to discuss their thesis research with not only their colleagues but also to understand the importance of being able to effectively communicate their work to a broader audience.

“If we are going to change the attitude of what people have about higher education,” Klonoff said. “If you are going to be able to take your work out into the world, and get funding and support and hired and all those other things, I mean it is critical that you learn to understand your work well enough to communicate about it to other people.”

Bauer said their institutional respiratory STARS has data on a map that displays the number of times the UCF graduates’ thesis and dissertations have been downloaded.

“So, we have had over four million downloads of theses and dissertations that have been submitted here at UCF, over time across the whole globe,” Bauer said.

Ashley Morris, fourth-year public affairs social work track doctoral student, won the first prize in the doctoral category. Morris was awarded a scholarship of $1,000 for her 3MT about the struggles of Black women who are caregivers of children diagnosed with mental illnesses.

“My research centers on the experience of Black women who are caregivers diagnose with mental illnesses, and so their stories were so important to me, and I think that for me it was about just doing my very best,” Morris said. “I had an opportunity to share their stories that I know that they want it to be share, and it was important to me to capture that in the best way that I could in those three minutes.” 

Morris said the money she won in the 3MT competition will go toward her final semester at UCF.

“I won first place a thousand dollars for this three-minute thesis competition, and the money will go right into my last semester,” Morris said. “So next spring is my last semester of studies so it will go right towards my academic expenses.” 

Melanie Cedeño-Lopez, third-year MFA feature film production student, won the first prize in the master’s category and was awarded a scholarship of $1,000 for her 3MT.

Cedeño-Lopez said her research is on how often Latinos are considered entrepreneurs in the economic, social and cultural growth of the nation and she has been working on a documentary for two years.

“The documentary is called, ‘LA BUENA COSECHA’ to challenge these stereotypes by shining a spotlight on the valuable contributions made by Latino entrepreneurs and their potential to positively shape the nation,” Cedeño-Lopez said. 

Cedeño-Lopez said she felt fortunate to be the winner of the master’s category, and she was excited because it will help her get other people involved.

“One thing I am really passion it about is to put the word out there and spread the message and get some people involved to help me in my mission to highlight the contributions to maybe challenge some stereotypes that’s something really important to me,” Cedeño-Lopez said. 

Cedeño-Lopez said she will use the funds for the post-production phase, such as sound editor, securing music licenses and hiring graphic designers, so she can finish the ‘LA BUENA COSECHA’ documentary.

“It’s money that I really needed for my project, and I will be using it for the post-production phase for my film, which is the phase that I am working on right now, so it is funding for my film,” Cedeño-Lopez said. “It is really helpful, and I am really excited to have won this scholarship.” 

Meghan Kane, third-year industrial and organizational psychology major, won the first prize in the people’s choice award.

Kane said she won the people’s choice award that represents the popular vote from the attendees of the event on the presentation they felt was most interesting. Kane was awarded a scholarship of $250 for her 3MT about the role leaders play in fostering gratitude expressions in the workplace.

“I chose it because I am passionate about making our workplaces a more positive place,” Kane said. “I like emphasizing the good in the world, and this research allowed me to do that.”

Kane said she spent time practicing her presentation with her friends but also attended an event at the College of Graduate Studies to increase her practice routines.

“Leading up to the competition, I spent time practicing my presentation with friends,” Kane said. “But prior to the event, the College of Graduate Studies hosted several formalized practice sessions that gave me the opportunity to present and get individualized feedback from high ranking university officers.” 

Kane said she will use the award money for her academic expenses.  

Cameron Ford, Ph. D. associate professor of management and founding director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, said UCF was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant will go toward accelerating research translation by helping students take their basic research and formulate actual solutions that people use and distribute.

“If we are dedicated to improving the human condition by doing that kind of research we are doing, our understanding leads to better ways of doing things the next step in that process is to actually provide those kinds of solution to people where they can access them and use them so they can utilize those benefits,” Ford said.

Morris said as a mother of three children, she finds great fulfillment in conducting research that addresses and reevaluates the struggles and problems caregivers encounter.

“My mother is the essential caregiver so her experiences caregiving for my brother is what inspired my research and it is a big part of why it is so important to me to highlight the experiences of caregivers cause they are often just forgotten,” Morris said. “I appreciate the fact that this research which I know is so important in this environment people saw the importance as well and they showed that they valued it by awarding me.”