• Three-Minute Thesis is an international competition for PhD students to describe their research in three minutes using only one image
• Bathurst PhD student represented Charles Sturt at 3MT Asia-Pacific final with presentation on how exercise regimes can reduce the health risks of shift work
• Judges impressed by the high quality of all eight Charles Sturt PhD research presentations

An exercise science PhD student represented Charles Sturt University (Charles Sturt) at the Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Asia-Pacific finals in Brisbane on Friday 4 October.

To qualify for the finals and represent Charles Sturt, Mr Blake Collins beat seven fellow PhD candidates from the University who had to describe their research in just three minutes using only one image.

The PhD student in the Charles Sturt School of Exercise Science, Sport and Health in Bathurst was the University’s 3MT winner for his presentation ‘A Shift in Focus’, which outlined his research on how exercise regimes could help reduce some of the negative health effects associated with shift work.

While his presentation at the Asia-Pacific finals did not land him a top-10 finish, Mr Collins said the competition was “a great experience”.

“There were so many fantastic presentations from a broad range of research areas that made the day a very engaging and interesting experience,” he said.

“In terms of my own performance I thought I presented well; I had some great, informal feedback from the other competitors and met some other researchers from similar areas.

“While I am disappointed to have missed out on a place in the top 10, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and was proud to represent Charles Sturt University.”

The 3MT competition is an international competition established by the University of Queensland.

The competition judges for the Charles Sturt 3MT final in Albury-Wodonga were Mr Justin Clancy MLA (Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly for Albury), Ms Bronwen O’Shea (producer at ABC Goulburn Murray) and Ms Alyce Fisher (Executive Director of Murray Arts).

The judges at the University’s 3MT competition were impressed by the high quality of the presentations and the contestants’ ability to clearly outline their research and why it is important.

They praised Mr Collins for his ability to engage the audience and for clearly summarising the health risks of shift work and the potential benefits of his research.

Mr Collins said, “My research investigated the mechanisms behind the observed increased incidence of disease states among shift workers, and used that information to develop exercise interventions in the hope of improving their health.

“I think the 3MT competition is a fantastic idea, because sometimes during the research process you can get bogged down in details, can’t see the forest through the trees.

“This competition encourages PhD students to develop relatable, intuitive, simple explanations of complex ideas that the wider community can relate to.

“I really enjoyed competing, and am ecstatic that my presentation was chosen as the University’s winner.

The runner-up in the Charles Sturt 3MT competition was Ms Felicity McCallum in the Charles Sturt School of Theology for her presentation on probing the truths of Australia’s history between 1788 and 1842 using Girardian Mimetic Theory.

Mr Steve Murphy in the Charles Sturt School of Teacher Education took out the People’s Choice Award, and also received a special commendation from the judges for his presentation on how rural schools can succeed in STEM education.

To find out more about Charles Sturt research degrees visit the ‘Study with us’ page on the Charles Sturt website.