The HKUST Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition is back in 2021 after the cancellation in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 28, 2021, about 150 research students, faculty, and staff got together and attended the first virtual HKUST 3MT® Competition. Seven finalists majored in engineering, humanities, and science and originally from five different countries/ regions competed in this final round. Their pre-recorded 3MT® presentations and performance during the Q&A session was assessed by the judging panel including faculty members from all the schools, the Interdisciplinary Programs Office, and the Center for Language Education. After an hour and a half’s presentation and discussion, Renae Crossing, MPhil student in Life Science, won the Championship and the People’s Choice Award. The second and third places went to Usman Bin Shahid, PhD student in Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Ziyue Li, PhD student in Industrial Engineering and Decision Analytics.

Usman will also represent the University to compete at the 2021 Asia-Pacific 3MT® Competition on October 20, 2021.