Xiaohongshu
An 80,000-word thesis would take 9 hours to present. Their time limit… 3 minutes!
The 3MT competition asks Doctoral candidates to present their research in just three minutes, in language appropriate to non-specialists, and with only one single presentation slide to support them. Can it be done? Scroll down and find out.
Doctoral candidates competed in faculty heats from February to May 2026 with the winner and runner-up from each Faculty Heat progressing to the UCL 3MT® Institutional Final, which took place on Wednesday 10 June as part of the Doctoral School Competitions Showcase. The 3MT competition 2026 was hosted by Darcy Lan, Students’ Union UCL Postgraduate Officer.
Eleven finalists were judged by Elizabeth Halton, Director of the Doctoral School, Todd Davies, Runner-Up of the UCL Three Minute Thesis 2025 competition, and Yiwen Cheng, Students’ Union UCL Research Students' Officer.
The 2026 finalists were:
| Name | faculty |
|---|---|
| Demin Hu (Unable to attend) | Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment |
| Kumareswaran Keerthana | Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment |
| Farhana Mann | Brain Sciences |
| Emma Oreskovic | Brain Sciences |
| Benjamin Dowsing | Population Health Sciences |
| Hadi Waheed | Population Health Sciences |
| Klara Burdova | Engineering Sciences |
| Aprilia Nur Tasfiyati | Engineering Sciences |
| Mario Guido | Laws |
| Alessandro Di Stefano | Laws |
| Eliz Kilich | Medical Sciences |
| Brigita De Vega | Medical Sciences |
And the winner is...
Eliz Kilich, ‘Immune Hand-Me-Downs: Shaping Immunity Before Birth’ – congratulations!
Watch Agatha’s winning presentation below. The Runner Up was Mario Guido, and the People’s Choice Award was Klara Burdova.
Have a look at the previous winners...
2024/5
Agatha Alves Anet, (Brain Sciences) 'Disentangling the Cognitive Mechanisms of Anxiety Disorders'.
2023/24
Ferdinando Sereno, (Engineering Sciences) 'Development and production of a stable encapsulin-based mRNA vaccine'
2022/23
Imogen Swift (Brian Sciences), "Blood: a gateway to dementia treatments" - congratulations.
2021/22
Maria Caluianu (Population Health Sciences), "Getting a Molecular Train Back on its Tracks" - congratulations.
2020/21
On 17 June 2021, 11 incredible finalists competed. The event's winner was Lydia Mapstone, the runner-up was Emma Mitchell and Suviti Chari took home the People's Choice Award.
We streamed the event on our Facebook page and a recording is available here if you missed the live one!
2019/20
Our first remote 3MT final due to the Coronavirus Pandemic saw Nekisa Zakeri with The New Cells on the Block: removing the brakes for liver cancer therapy win.
2017/18
On 25 June 2018, 9 students competed. The winner of the event was Elizabeth Forsyth, the runner-up was Ione Woollacott and Sarah Slack took home the People’s Choice award.
2016/17
On 26 June 2017, 13 students competed. The winner of the event was Alexandra Bridarolli with Carlos Ledezma taking home the People’s Choice award.
2015/16
On the Final on 26 June 2016, 16 students competed. The winner of the event was Jonathan Lambert, with Fatumina Abukar taking home the People’s Choice award.
Jonathan was entered into the national UK Three Minute Thesis semi-final and progressed to the national final.
2014/15
On 30 June 2015, 11 students competed. The winner of the event was Jonathan Hannabuss, with Sabina Andron coming second.
Jonathan was entered into the national UK Three Minute Thesis semi-final and progressed to the national final.