Yasna Najmi of Ulster University gives a winning 3MT® presentation!

So what is a winning 3MT® presentation?

Just imagine you’d written a research thesis 80,000 words long. And were asked to present it in just 3 minutes. Oh and to really challenge you, the people you are presenting to know nothing about your specialist area of research.

What would you do? Where would you start?

Well, one researcher who can officially claim to be a communication expert is Yasna Najmi. Yasna is a qualified dentist undertaking a PhD at Ulster University, and she took part in the prestigious Vitae Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®) in 2022. The 3MT® takes place annually and is open to all PhD researchers in the UK. Yasna presented on ‘A herbal alternative to treating dental implant diseases.’

Yasna gave a winning 3MT® presentation to take the Peoples Choice Award – out of 63 universities and over 1,000 researcher participants. Now that’s no mean feat! Bespoke Communications is proud to have worked with the amazing Doctoral College at Ulster University to support Yasna with her preparation for the competition.

You can watch Yasna’s winning 3MT® presentation here:

Yasna generously said of our support:

The 3MT® Judging Criteria are as follows:

Comprehension and content

• Did the presentation provide an understanding of the background to the research question being addressed and its significance?
• Did the presentation clearly describe the key results of the research including conclusions and outcomes?
• Did the presentation follow a clear and logical sequence?
• Was the thesis topic, key results and research significance and outcomes communicated in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience?
• Did the speaker avoid research jargon, explain terminology and provide adequate background information to illustrate points?
• Did the presenter spend adequate time on each element of their presentation – or did they elaborate for too long on one aspect or was the presentation rushed?

Engagement and communication

• Did the presentation make the audience want to know more?
• Was the presenter careful not to trivialise or generalise their research?
• Did the presenter convey enthusiasm for their research?
• Did the presenter capture and maintain their audience’s attention?
• Did the speaker have sufficient stage presence, eye contact and vocal range; maintain a steady pace, and have a confident stance?
• Did the PowerPoint slide enhance the presentation – was it clear, legible, and concise?