OLLU holds successful Three Minute Thesis competition

OLLU held the first Texas regional Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition this past weekend in the Sueltenfuss Library. The event was a rousing success.

Sponsored by H-E-B, 3MT featured graduate students from universities across the state, presenting academic research within a three-minute time limit while vying for a $1,000 prize.

Chahat Upreti, a University of Texas at Dallas graduate student in biology, claimed the first-place award on Saturday with his presentation: “Curbing the spread of antibiotic resistance.” 

Jenn Snedker of Sam Houston State finished second. Khushi Gupta, also of Sam Houston State, won the People’s Choice Award. Two OLLU Leadership Studies students, Liliana Gomez and Todd Pope, were finalists.

The Department of Graduate Student Services, under the leadership of OLLU graduate student Noel Cortez, hosted the competition, which provided graduate students a platform to showcase their academic research. 

Teri Castillo, City Councilwoman, District 5, spoke to the students on Friday and was a sponsor of the event. Students from more than a dozen colleges and universities networked and attended a job fair.

OLLU to host Three Minute Thesis competition in November

OLLU will serve as host for Texas’s first-ever Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT) on Nov. 3 and 4, a regional competition that will feature master’s and doctoral-level students from across Texas showcasing a broad range of academic research from different disciplines.

Students will present their research with just one static PowerPoint slide. They are limited to three minutes. A panel of judges will decide on the winners. Cash prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place.

Participating schools include Baylor, Texas Christian University, University of the Incarnate Word, St. Mary’s University, the University of Texas-Dallas, Angelo State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, St. Edward’s and Sam Houston State.

Five OLLU students have agreed to compete in the event, which is sponsored by H-E-B. OLLU encourages more students to compete. 

If you would like to compete, contact Noel Cortez, Director of the OLLU Graduate Student Center, at nocortez@ollusa.edu