Three Minute Thesis 2026

This year’s competition will be organised in collaboration with the Medical University of Warsaw.

The event is addressed to PhD students, who are challenged to present their research on stage – all in just three minutes and without the use of additional multimedia, such as PowerPoint presentations.

We invite all PhD students to take part in this unique competition! Cash prizes await the finalists, and participants will also receive additional benefits in the form of ECTS credits and recognition of specific learning outcomes – not to mention the opportunity to develop their presentation skills, including communication skills and self-confidence.

Registration link:

3 Minute Thesis - Register now!

Regulations:

3MT Regulations

Please note – finalists from the previous edition are not eligible to take part in this year’s competition!

Contact the organisers: projekty.sd@pw.edu.pl

Prizes for finalists and participants:

· 1st place prize – 5,000 PLN;

· 2nd place prize – 4,000 PLN;

· 3rd place prize – 3,000 PLN;

· Audience award – 1,500 PLN;

· Special prizes (3) – 1,500 PLN each;

· PhD students who proceed to Stage II (qualifying round) and Stage III (final) will receive credit for a course at the Warsaw University of Technology Doctoral School as a researcher’s workshop worth 1 ECTS, and the following learning outcomes will be awarded:

o SD_U4

o SD_U6

o SD_U7

o SD_K3

o SD_K5

· PhD students who take part in the final event (after registering) will be credited with 5 hours’ attendance at an interdisciplinary seminar.

· PhD students of the Doctoral School of the Medical University of Warsaw who reach the second stage (qualifying round) and the third stage (final) of the 3MT® Competition are exempt from the requirement to actively participate in a national or international scientific conference whilst studying at the Doctoral School of the Medical University of Warsaw.

· A PhD student at the Doctoral School of the Medical University of Warsaw who takes first place in the third stage (final) of the 3MT® Competition will be credited with 12 hours of the ‘Multidisciplinary seminars’ module from the fourth year of their programme at the Doctoral School of the Medical University of Warsaw.

Event schedule:

· By 11 October 2026 – Stage 1: participant registrations

· 20 and 21 November 2026 – Stage 2: qualifying rounds;

· 27 November 2026 – Stage 3: 3MT competition final

The final twelve will present their projects to the jury and the audience. The presentations will be assessed by representatives from the worlds of science and the media. The following have accepted invitations to join the jury: Prof. Mariusz Malinowski, Vice-Rector for Research at the Warsaw University of Technology; Prof. Marcin Sobczak, Vice-Rector for Research and Technology Transfer at the Medical University of Warsaw; science communicator and graduate of the Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering at the Warsaw University of Technology, Dr Adam Mirek, science journalist Radosław Brzózka, and the winner of the first edition of the Three Minute Thesis® at the Warsaw University of Technology and PhD student at the Faculty of Chemistry there, Natalia Izdebska, MSc Eng. The judges will select the best presentations and award prizes. The audience will also choose their own winner via an online vote.

The final will take place at Rektorska 4, on the first floor in the lecture theatre.