James Cook University, Singapore held its annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition on 12 August 2024. Participants were challenged to present their research with some guidelines – the presentations had to be done in three minutes, be easy for non-experts to understand, and only one static PowerPoint slide could be used as a visual aid.  

This year, nine contestants competed across three categories: Higher Degree Research students, external partners, as well as academic and research staff. They presented research ranging from allergies to psychology, aquaculture, deepfake technology, artificial intelligence and more – showcasing the rich and diverse research community in James Cook University, Singapore.

During the event, the audience had the opportunity to meet the new Dean Graduate Research, Professor Stephan Riek, who delivered the event Welcome and Opening Address.

The judging panel, chaired by Associate Professor Jacob Wood, Associate Dean of Research, comprised:

• Dr Shumetha Sidhu (Director of Postgraduate Research Studies at the University of Reading, Malaysia)
• Dr Haejin Jang (2023 winner of the Academic/Research category)
• Mr Maxwell Low (Senior Manager Digital and Alumni Marketing)

“This year’s 3MT Competition was once again a fantastic display of how effectively researchers can communicate complex ideas succinctly and in an engaging way. Well done to all our contestants for their outstanding presentations!” says Associate Professor Wood.

Each category winner received a plaque, a certificate, and an SGD$500.00 gift certificate. The People’s Choice winner, a fan favourite voted by the audience, received a plaque and certificate.

• Higher Degree by Research: Dr Jeffrey Ling
• External Partners/Alumni:Mr Mihir Pershad, CEO of Umami Bioworks
• Academic/Research: Dr Jasper Roe SFHEA
• People's Choice: Dr Jasper Roe SFHEA

Dr Jeffrey Ling won the Higher Degree by Research category with his presentation “Can I Have a Blood Test, Please?”.  He shared about the use of blood to evaluate the impacts of Scale Drop Disease Virus (SDDV) in barramundi. Dr Ling will represent the Singapore campus at the 3MT finals on 30 August at the James Cook University campus in Townsville, Australia.

For his presentation “Cultivated Seafood Offers a More Sustainable Approach to Meeting Consumer Demand”, Mr Mihir Pershad spoke about UMAMI Bioworks' platform for the scalable production of cultivated seafood. This platform aims to protect endangered, threatened and protected species in the ocean while providing consumers with sustainable seafood without compromises. The platform uses advanced systems engineering-led thinking to enable local, price-competitive production.

Dr Jasper Roe impressed the judges and captivated the audience with his presentation, “Deepfakes in Education: Where are We Headed?”, where he spoke about the risks, benefits, and challenges of deepfakes, and offered recommendations on how institutions can prepare for this evolving technology.

3MT is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, which celebrates the exciting research conducted by Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students, and cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills. JCU has a proud history of participating in the event.

Find out more about our Higher Degrees by Research courses.

Discover further information on areas of research and research strength at James Cook University in Singapore.

Contacts

Research: Associate Professor Denise Dillon [email protected]

Media: Ms Pinky Sibal [email protected] / Ms Hoe Shu Rin [email protected]