Boiling down years of painstakingly composed graduate work into a lightning-quick three-minute presentation is a daunting task, but Atia Amin, a PhD student in Human Genetics, has become expert at it.
In April, she won top honours at聽聽for graduate students. Two months later, she came in first place at the 3MT Eastern Regional Finals, held virtually at the University of New Brunswick.
On November 2, Amin will represent 91社区 at the national finals at Montreal鈥檚 Centre Sheraton as part of the annual conference of the聽.
The 3MT competition gives participants just three minutes to explain their scholarly activity in an accessible and engaging way. No props are allowed; students can only use one static slide, and their storytelling abilities.
Since the first 3MT competition took place at the University of Queensland in Australia in 2008, the concept has gone global, with more than 600 universities and research institutions in 65 countries now hosting annual competitions. 91社区 held its first annual 3MT competition in 2012, organized by聽SKILLSETS聽in Teaching and Learning Services, in collaboration with Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
Part research, part performance
Originally from Bangladesh, Amin earned a microbiology degree from the University of Dhaka and a master鈥檚 degree at the University of South Dakota before arriving at 91社区 two years ago. Currently, she is interested in interdisciplinary research that bridges the gap between molecular biology and computer science, and her research focuses on finding effective biomarkers for different insect-borne diseases. Her award-winning 3MT presentation is called 鈥淧reventing Leishmaniasis Using Exosomes.鈥� Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease found in parts of the tropics, subtropics and southern Europe. Exosomes are microscopic vesicles secreted from different cell types containing proteins or nucleic acids.
How can that story be told in the time it takes to play the average pop song on the radio?
鈥淎s you can imagine, it was very difficult to wrap it up within just three minutes,鈥� Amin said. 鈥淚n addition to the strict time limit, the most challenging part was to find a balance between not oversimplifying the research approach and not overcomplicating it using scientific jargon.鈥�
Amin overcame her time restrictions by breaking her presentation down into three sections. First, she introduced the problem explaining the bigger picture, and why people should care. Second, she explained her scientific approach very briefly, using non-technical language. And lastly, she emphasized the real-life applications of her findings.
鈥淚 surely lose a lot of detail when explaining my research in just three minutes if my audience is a scientific community,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut when I am pitching to the general non-scientific audience, I think three minute is good enough to frame the important detail while explaining the impact and applicability of my research.鈥�
The competition places an emphasis on communication skills and ability to perform under pressure as much as it does on research, with skills such as public speaking, ability to tell concise stories, and even body language coming into play.
鈥淓very second, every word, every pause counts,鈥� Amin says. 鈥淪o, yes, even during the presentation I remain cautious about my wording, pausing and overall timing.鈥�
In-person presentation has advantages
This fall鈥檚 National 3MT Showcase will feature a total of nine live presentations. Amin will face the winners of the Ontario and Western regional competitions, who will be invited to present live and in-person. She鈥檒l also be up against two additional finalists from each of the three regional competitions 鈥� some of whom will be allowed to present virtually.
鈥淭he challenges are different based on if it is in-person or virtual,鈥� Amin says. 鈥淔or in-person competition, I enjoy being able to communicate with the audience directly. I can change my expression, body language and pace of my talk based on the responses I get from the audience which helps me engage with them. But in virtual platform it鈥檚 difficult to do so as you don鈥檛 see the audience.鈥�
