What is 3MT®?
The University of Toronto is thrilled to host the 2025 Ontario Three Minute Thesis (3MT) this May.
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) involves graduate students presenting their research and its wider impact in three minutes or less to a panel of non-specialist judges. The challenge is to make the presentation of complex research and its implications engaging and accessible, without over-simplifying. The ability to clearly explain complex research to a generalist audience is a key skill useful in many of the career paths graduate students pursue post graduation.
The 3MT® competition was initially developed by the University of Queensland in 2008, with competitions by other Australian and New Zealand universities following, culminating in the first Trans Tasman competition in 2010. UBC ran the first Canadian competition in 2011, and there are now 3MT® events across the country. The top two presenters from the Ontario 3MT® will go on to represent the province at the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) 3MT®, which is the Canadian national competition, taking place during the annual CAGS Conference.
- Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2025
- Time: 10 AM–12 PM ET
- Location: William Doo Auditorium, New College, 45 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2H3
Meet the students
The Ontario 3MT® brings together students from across the province and provides them a unique opportunity to learn about each other’s research activities, develop professional skills, and contribute to a province-wide research culture. See below for a list of this year’s presenters:
- Sammy Abdou, Toronto Metropolitan University
- Salma Bafagih, Ontario Tech University
- Lara Barnum, Guelph University
- Cassidy Brooks, Nipissing University
- Dylan Daniel Di Carlo, Lakehead Univesity
- Joseph Gebru, Brock University
- Geneviève Haché, Carleton University
- Dylan James, Trent University
- Hayden Reaume, Laurentian University
- Dilakshan Srikanthan, Queen’s University
- Dora Strelkova, University of Windsor
- Emily Wood, University of Toronto
Meet the host and judges
This year, we are thrilled to have the following judges at the Ontario 3MT competition:
Rob Baker is best known as a member of The Tragically Hip. Together they released 15 studio albums and toured the world relentlessly for over 30 years. The band won 17 Juno awards, including 2 for Rob’s work as art director, designing the bands albums.
The Hip are members of The Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Canadas Walk of Fame, received The Governor Generals Performing Arts award, and in 2017 Rob became a member of The Order of Canada. Currently Rob is engaged in a valiant but failing effort to be retired. This is his 11th time judging the Ontario 3MT event.
Professor Deepa Kundur is the Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity of Intelligent Critical Infrastructure and Chair of The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto. A Toronto native, she received her B.A.Sc., M.A.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees—all in Electrical and Computer Engineering—from the University of Toronto in 1993, 1995, and 1999, respectively.
Professor Kundur’s research interests include cybersecurity of smart grid systems, autonomous electric vehicles, and psychiatric informatics. She has authored over 200 journal and conference publications and is regarded as a recognized authority on cybersecurity issues.
She has held several prominent leadership roles in the research community, including Honorary Chair of the 2021 IEEE Electric Power and Energy Conference, TPC Co-Chair of the 2023 IEEE SmartGridComm, and Publicity Chair for ICASSP 2021. She has also served in various executive organization capacities for flagship events such as IEEE GlobalSIP, IEEE ICC, ACM e-Energy, and IEEE GLOBECOM, particularly in tracks and symposia focused on smart energy systems, resilient infrastructures, and cyber-physical security.
Professor Kundur is a Fellow of the IEEE, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and the Engineering Institute of Canada. She is also a Senior Fellow of Massey College.
Nicola Luksic is the senior producer of Ideas on CBC Radio. Her award-winning radio documentary work has taken her to the former Yugoslavia, Chiapas, Mexico and Zambia. She began her CBC career in 2003 at The Fifth Estate and The Current. She created and produced several short-run radio series including The Bottom Line with David Suzuki and And Sometimes Y – a show on language. As a media trainer she has done volunteer communications work with Doctors Without Borders in South Africa, Dignitas International in Malawi, as well as Farm Radio International in Ghana. For the past 10 years she’s been producing a regular series on Ideas called Ideas from the Trenches, featuring the work of PhD students across Canada.
Ivan Semeniuk has translated his passion for science to a career as a journalist and educator. As the science correspondent for the Globe and Mail, he has distinguished himself as a national voice on all things related to the world of science. His work requires a breadth and depth of scientific knowledge and an ability to present information in a way that resonates with readers.
Prior to his career in journalism, Semeniuk served in a variety of roles at the Ontario Science Centre, Discovery Channel, New Scientist, and Nature Publishing Group. He has received numerous awards and honours, including being named the 2015 Laureate of the Sanofi Pasteur Medal of Excellence in Health Research Journalism. In 2016, he was awarded the Fleming Medal and Citation from the Royal Canadian Institute for Science for his outstanding reporting and work to educate people about science-related topics.
Kathleen Wynne was Ontario’s 25th Premier. She was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 2003 as the MPP for Don Valley West, and she became the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party in January 2013.
Kathleen has dedicated her professional life to building a better province for the people of Ontario. She and her government were guided by the values and principles that knit this province together: fairness, diversity, collaboration and creativity.
Kathleen has served as Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Minister of Transportation, Minister of Education and Minister of Agriculture and Food.
Kathleen served as a Public School Trustee in Toronto. She has led citizens’ groups in a number of grassroots community projects, and has played a major role as an organizer and facilitator. This experience has contributed to her results-based approach to life, government and community.
Kathleen has three adult children, Chris, Jessie and Maggie, and six grandchildren, Olivia, Claire, Hugh, Violet, Arthur and George. Before moving to Alliston, Ontario, Kathleen and her partner Jane lived in North Toronto for more than 30 years.
Dr. Samantha Yammine, PhD is a Neuroscientist turned Science Communicator better known as Science Sam. She is the host of Curiosity Weekly, the flagship science podcast from Discovery, and a Regular Science Expert on CTV’s daily lifestyle show The Good Stuff with Mary Berg.
Through social media, TV screens and keynote stages around the world, she has built an engaged community empowering people to explore science by making it more accessible, inclusive and fun. With over a quarter million followers across social media channels, as @science.sam, she equips people to think critically to counter misinformation, and reaches millions sharing life through the microscope to inspire a sense of wonder and awe about our bodies and the world around us. As a science communications consultant for organizations like the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Health Canada, and Let’s Talk Science, she is trusted by experts for her scientific integrity while creatively sharing nuanced and cutting edge research.
Participating universities
2025 Ontario Competition rules
Judging criteria
The following categories will be used as guidelines for judging the presentations of each competitor. The weighting of each category is determined by the host university.
Frequently asked questions