Students Showcase Research In Quick-fire Thesis Challenge

Rewiring your brain, the menstrual cycle, and a fashion emergency are some of the captivating topics presented at UC’s Research Student Showcase held last night.

For the first time, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) has combined three research competitions into Whakāturanga Rangahau | Research Student Showcase. In these competitions, UC Doctoral and Master’s research students are challenged to communicate their innovative research with a general audience.

Last night, the finals for UC’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT), and the prizegiving for the Visualise Your Thesis (VYT) and Exhibit Your Thesis (EYT) competitions were held.

3MT challenges research students to explain their thesis in three minutes in front of a panel of judges. For their research ‘Listening to childrenin Aotearoa, New Zealand’, Brittany Ogden-Travis was awarded first place and will receive a $3000 research grant and will compete at the Asia Pacific virtual event finals hosted by the University of Queensland. Brittany also won the People’s Choice award.

The runners up were Chris Kelly for ‘Measuring problematic media use in children’, and Megan Eustace for 'Rongoā reo: Supporting communication for Māori with dementia.'

The VYT competition requires students to produce a 1-minute audio-visual presentation that summarises their thesis. This is the fourth year the Library has run the competition, receiving 13 entries across six faculties.

Kirsty Newman won the first prize of $1000 for her research ‘Decision-making regarding packaged food products.’ Kirsty’s winning submission will be entered into the University of Melbourne’s international virtual competition.

Second place went to David Pedley for ‘Urban Trees and Housing Intensification: A Spatial Conflict?’, and third place was awarded to Amelia Threadgould for ‘Nurturing Pre-service Teachers’ Food-Growing Identities.’ Shalini Krishnan won the VYT People’s Choice with her video on ‘Exploring the Perception of Autism in the Indian Community in Aotearoa.’

This year, Te Kura Tāura | UC Graduate School introduced a YET competition, challenging students to develop a poster that conveys their thesis to a general audience. Eleven designs have been on display in the Puaka-James Hight Central Library and were showcased in the foyer prior to the presentations at the Research Student Showcase event.

EYT winners:

1st place: Katherine Revell ‘Improving participation in performing arts.’

2nd place: Katie Ellis ‘Perspectives of Endometriosis Patients and Practitioners on Improving Future Care.’

3rd place: Samuel Tan ‘Understanding the effect of digital literacies on the reading ability of English major students in the context of tertiary education.’

People’s choice: Aisha Majeed ‘Roles, methods and experiences of communication partners. Supporting and facilitating communication through the progression of Parkinson’s disease.’

The event offered the research student community at UC the chance to display their research to friends, whānau and the wider community. These competitions provide students with the opportunity to build skills, network and showcase their ideas. The evening’s celebrations concluded with plans for entries in 2025.

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