PhD students share their research in three minutes

Students from across the University were challenged to present their PhD thesis in just three minutes in this year’s Three Minute Thesis Competition.

Fifteen students were selected to speak at the event with the judging panel including leading academics Professor Ian Colbeck, Professor Nancy Kula and Dr Peter Luther.

The winner of the competition was Tuesday Watts, from the Department of Psychology, who has been researching genetically identical twins - where one is gay or bisexual and the other is straight.

She said: “I really enjoyed taking part in the competition, which really enhanced my communication skills and provided great insight into some of the brilliant research being conducted at the University of Essex.”

“Winning the competition was really unexpected, because all the other contestants were so good, but it has provided me with a huge confidence boost,” added Tuesday.

Runner-up Anusnigdha, from the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies, who has been studying asexuality, said: “The competition was a great opportunity to present my thesis to a general audience, and winning the runner's up prize has helped reaffirm my confidence in my research.”

Ulric Abonie, from the School of Biological Sciences, was voted the Audience Choice winner for his talk on using the correct pacing to promote physical activity in adults with multiple sclerosis.