2016 SENG Three Minute Thesis Competition

The Center for Engineering Education Innovation (E²I) held the SENG Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT^®) for the third time on April 6, 2016. 3MT^® is a research communication competition developed by the University of Queensland. It aims at challenging research students to consolidate their ideas and research discoveries so that they can be presented concisely to a non-specialist audience. The judging panel this year consists of senior faculty members and communication professionals, including Prof King Lun Yeung, Associate Dean of Engineering (Research and Graduate Studies), Prof Ting Chuen Pong, Director of E²I, Dr Arthur McNeill, Director of the Center for Language Education, Prof Francesco Ciucci, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE), and Prof David Rossiter, Associate Professor of Engineering Education in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

Through the pre-selection interview eight students were selected to compete in this final round. Liwen Jing, an Electronic and Computer Engineering (ECE) PhD student under the supervision of Prof Ross Murch, won the championship. The second and the third places went to two MAE PhD students, Feng Ni under the supervision of Prof Kai Tang and Daniel Villaroman under the supervision of Prof Baoling Huang. The People’s Choice Award went to Syed Mohsin Abbas, an ECE PhD student under the supervision of Prof Chi Ying Tsui.

This event emphasizes the importance and necessity of technical communication skills for engineering research students. The judges, finalists, and audience shared their experience and exchanged ideas about the improvement and enhancement of research communication skills. Some students from the audience also prepared and gave their 3MT^® presentations to the judges and fellow students.