Three Minute Thesis (3MT ®) Competition M2GARSS 2020

The IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society is organizing a 3MT® competition at the Mediterranean and Middle-East Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium M2GARSS 2020. The competition is open to all students in a research-based masters or doctoral program i.e. a program in which a final thesis is needed to graduate. It’s an amazing experience for students attending M2GARSS to show their presentation skills and be rewarded for their research idea and their motivation in a simple and interesting way.

There will be two stages in the competition.

  1. Submission of a 5-minute video describing the thesis/research topic by uploading it to a video platform (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) or to a site accessible only by the evaluation committee with a private URL and filling this form here indicating the video URL by February 9, 2020. Any visual aid is permitted only for this phase of the competition. The top 10 submissions will be selected by February 15, 2020 and invited to the final round of the competition at M2GARSS. The judging criteria for this phase are presentation skills (40%), scientific quality (40%) and originality (20%) of the topic presented.
  1. Final presentation of the three minutes to an audience and adjudicating panel during M2GARSS. The rules and judging criteria for the second stage are those of the traditional 3MT™ competition as noted below. The top 3 presentations will be selected and will be awarded at the conference banquet with exciting prizes that will be announced soon and “Best 3MT® award” certificate from GRSS.

 

If you have any questions about the competition, please contact us through 3mt@2020.m2garss.org.

Timeline of Competition

By February 9, 2020: Submit 5-minute videos for the Phase 1 of the competition.

February 15, 2020: Top 10 submissions are invited to present at 3MT™ competition at M2GARSS 2020.

March 10, 2020: 3MT™ competition at M2GARSS

March 11, 2020: Winners announced, and prizes awarded at M2GARSS banquet.

Competition rules:

  • A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted. No slide transitions, animations or ‘movement’ of any description are allowed. The slide is to be presented from the beginning of the oration.
  • No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted.
  • No additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
  • Presentations are limited to 3 minutes maximum and competitors exceeding 3 minutes are disqualified.
  • Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps or songs).
  • Presentations are to commence from the stage.
  • Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts their presentation through either movement or speech.
  • The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.

Comprehension and content

  • Did the presentation provide an understanding of the background and significance to the research question being addressed, while explaining terminology and avoiding jargon?
  • Did the presentation clearly describe the impact and/or results of the research, including conclusions and outcomes?
  • Did the presentation follow a clear and logical sequence?
  • Was the thesis topic, research significance, results/impact and outcomes communicated in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience?
  • 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 oration make the audience want to know more?
  • Was the presenter careful not to trivialize or generalize 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?