Faculty of Education Heat Winners: 3 Minute Thesis

First Place Winner: Emmeline Hoogland
Program: PhD, Educational Technology and Learning Design
Supervisor: Dr. Engida Gebre

Title: Everyday Acts that Shape Tomorrow: Raising Environmentalists

“Participating in this year’s 3MT was both a personal and professional milestone. It gave me the chance to reflect on how far I’ve come—last year, I hadn’t even collected data, and this year I was able to share results. Condensing your research into just three minutes never gets easier, but it’s such a valuable process. It pushes you to clarify: what truly matters here?”

“My research explores how families shape a child’s relationship with nature, and this year’s presentation was especially emotional. I lost my father last summer, and this was a way to honour his role in both my life and my research. Winning the Faculty Heat again is humbling, and I’m excited to share my work with an even broader audience in the Final!”

Emmeline's 3MT Advice: Keep it simple! It’s so easy to feel like you need to pack in every fact, concept, or detail, but you really don’t. You are trying to tell a story about your research to inspire people who might never have thought about that topic before. You want to leave them with a feeling of curiosity, wonder, and a taste for more, not overwhelm them with complexity or details.

Runner-Up & People's Choice: Ayush Mukherjee
Program: PhD, Mathematics Education
Supervisor: Dr. Nathalie Sinclair

Title: Speculating with Tagore: Towards a decolonial aesthetics of the mathematics classroom

“This 3MT was my first-ever experience with public research communication, so it holds a special place in my academic journey. It pushed me to clarify what makes my work novel and relevant, and gave me more confidence in how I speak about my research.”

“Being named Runner-Up and People’s Choice tells me two things: that my ideas resonated, and that I still have room to grow. I’m grateful the audience and judges saw value in my research—and equally inspired by the other presentations, which showed me new ways to communicate more effectively.”

Ayush's 3MT Advice: It helps to have critical friends and to prepare early. The more I practised talking about my research with my peers, the more ideas I had about what to definitely include in my presentation and what to avoid. While I could not attend the workshops for 3MT in person, I reviewed them later and found useful techniques that I brought to my own presentation. Finally, the rules for 3MT are strict, but there is enough creative space within it to make a presentation memorable.

We would also like to congratulate and acknowledge Angelia for her impressive presentation as well!

Competitor: Angelia Illico-Ouachour
Program: PhD, Educational Technology and Learning Design
Supervisor: Dr. Cristiano de Moura & Dr. Ana Maria Navas Iannini

Title: Teaching Science Authentically: The Power of Instructor Communities