Malaysia 3 Minute Thesis Competition 2015
Date: 12 May 2015
Venue: Razak Tower, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur

The Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT) is here again! Successful organisation of the last year event has inspired UTM to organise the same event this year. This time UTM and UMP both became the organizers of Malaysia 3MT 2015 which was held on 12 May 2015 in Dewan Utama, Anjung Menara Razak, UTM Kuala Lumpur. This year’s competition is supported by Malaysia Dean of Graduate Studies Council and Ministry of Education Malaysia. The event has been officiated by Tuan P. Kalamanathan P. Panchanathan, Deputy Minister of Education II. This competition was originated by University of Queensland in 2008.

This year the competition is attended by 69 PhD students from 16 public universities throughout the nation. University of Queensland has acknowledged this competition by listing UTM as a participatory institution in its website. The 3MT this year is quite competitive since 69 contestants from 16 public universities have participated. The participants of Three Minute Thesis competition are doctoral students who are finalizing their theses. The competition is a milieu for the students to enhance their academic thinking as well as their communication skills. Their skills are evaluated on how well they explain their doctoral studies to non-expert audiences. They are given only three minutes with one powerpoint slide to convince the audience on their research novelty and originality. A group of five juries have been invited to evaluate the participant presentation. They are Prof Dr Iekshan Othman, Head of Department Biomedical Science from Monash University Malaysia, Dr Wan Abdul Rahman Jauhari Wan Harun from SIRIM Berhad, Encik Ahmad Fedtri Yahya from Media Prima Bhd, Encik Nik Izuddin Nik Mohd Yusof from Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) Sdn Bhd and Dr Guan Eng Chan from Higher Learning Sector, Division of Research Planning and Coordinating at Ministry of Education Malaysia.

The participants are divided into three categories which are (1) Engineering, (2) Science and Technology, and (3) Social Science. There are 22 participants in the Engineering Category, 25 in the Science and Technology Category, and 22 in the Social Science Category. Each category provides three awards, the First Place, Second Place and Third Place. The winner for each category is awarded with RM3000 for the First Place, the second place with RM2000, and the third place with RM1000. For this year, a new category is introduced which is the ‘Best of the Best’ for the best winner among the 9 winners of the contest.

The winner of the ‘Best of the best’ has been awarded to JAYSUMAN PUSPPANATHAN (UTM) from the Engineering category.

The winners based on category are:
Engineering Category:
1. First Place – Jaysuman Pusppanathan (UTM)
2. Second Place – Noor Aina Mohd Nazri (UTM)
3. Third Place – Roshahliza M. Ramli (USM)

Science & Technology Category:
1. First Place – Nor Ain Husein (UTM)
2. Second Place – Norsyuhadah Alias (UPM)
3. Third Place – Ili Syazwana Abdullah (UM)

Social Science Category:
1. First Place – Safiah Omar (UiTM)
2. Second Place – Nor Haniza Mohamed (UTM)
3. Third Place – Azadeh Shafaei Darastani (USM)