On November 9, 2017 ten doctoral students selected as finalists from across the university, ranging from nanoscience to education, were challenged to present their thesis in just three minutes. The 3MT Competition founded by Queensland University has now been adopted by over 600 schools in over 63 countries. With an average PhD thesis consisting of 80,000 words presenting your thesis in three minutes can be a quite a challenge but in order to bridge academic research to practical application this can prove to be an invaluable skill.
As stated on the official 3MT website “Presenting in [this] competition increases [a student’s] capacity to effectively explain their research in three minutes, in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.” Kinesiology’s own, Brian Cone, 2nd place winner of the university-wide competition, did a great job in succeeding at this mission in his presentation of “Where Fall Prevention Went Wrong.” In just three minutes Brian presented a compelling argument for the importance of assessment that will help identify individuals who are at risk for falling.
With one fall per second of every day occurring in the United States Brian’s research on looking at the feasibility of using mathematical calculations that can be performed on a smartphone app can have a large scale impact; especially in conjunction with research established by Kinesiology’s VEAR Lab which has shown that exposing individuals to being tripped eventually helps the individual to trip less. Brian’s thesis on an easily administered assessment to identify individuals that are at most risk emphasizes the bridge between academic research to practical application. Way to go Brian!