2024 Concordia Three Minute Thesis and Ma thèse en 180 secondes competitions training (Online) | GPSC405

Do you want to learn how to communicate your thesis compellingly and clearly? Participating in the Concordia Three Minute Thesis and Ma thèse en 180 secondes (3MT & MT180) Competition is a perfect opportunity to receive individual coaching to improve your public speaking skills and communicate your work effectively. 

The 3MT competition is open to all Doctoral students and Master’s (thesis-option), while the MT180 competition is only open to Doctoral students. Interested students must sign up for one of the training sections, where they will learn details about the requirements of the competition and receive coaching on how to present their research in an engaging and accessible way.

All participants must fully attend their training sessions and participate in at least one in-person practice session with guest coaches between February and March. 

Students are expected to dedicate around 20 hours to participate in the 3MT/MT180 competition:  8h for coaching sessions, 5-10 of individual work on crafting the presentation structure and slide, 2h for the competition dry run, and 2h for attending the final competition.

The 2025 3MT/MT180 Concordia competition will take place on Friday, March 21 at 2 pm at Concordia University 4th Space. Prizes will be awarded to the top presenters, and two students will be selected to represent Concordia University at regional and national competitions. The audience can choose their favourite presentation by casting their votes online for the People’s Choice Award at the Masters and Doctoral level. 

Competition timeline:
January 21- February 15: Online and in-person training focusing on designing the pitch and slide as follows:

-1st training session:  Students learn the rules of the competition and judging criteria and start drafting their script outline

-2nd training session: Students present their script and get feedback on their story from their coaches and peers

February 7: PhD students interested in participating in MT180 can join a special preparation session from Acfas.

-3rd training session: Student present updated script and their slide based on feedback received during the second session

February 18- March 7: Students sign up and attend any 4 practice in-person training sessions, where they practice in front of guest coaches. The coaching for these sessions focuses on presentation delivery and body language, and title of the presentation.

March 14: Dry run for the competition

March 21: Final competition April-June: Winners will represent Concordia University at the national competitions (CAGS, NAGS, Eastern Regional 3MT Finals, and Acfas Finale Nationale de MT180 Finale Nationale)

Check out the detailed training schedule