On the 19th November 2025 IUA will hold the National ‘Three Minute Thesis’ Competition at the Royal Irish Academy.
Aideen McCabe, UCC, 2024 Winner
7 winners of the individual university competitions will compete in the IUA national final. An 80,000 word thesis would take 9 hours to present. Their time limit is 3 minutes!
Three Minute Thesis (originally developed by the University of Queensland) supports graduate research students in their development as confident research communicators. Participants are challenged to present their research in three minutes, using only one slide, to a non-specialist audience.
In this competition entrants must distil their niche subjects and intensive research into bite-sized presentations that will inform and entertain the general public.
Join us for this exciting competition!
Meet Our Finalists
Name and Title:
Megan Griffiths
Representing DCU
Link: Watch Megan's SHORT VIDEO
Description: Faculty: Institute of Education & Centre for Talented Youth Ireland
Discipline: Inclusive Education / Gifted Education
PhD Project Title: Best practices in science education for gifted students: Developing resources, worked examples and guidelines for Irish science teachers
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during your research, and how did you overcome them?
To date, the biggest challenge I have faced is getting data from Irish science teachers. With curriculum reforms and consultations, combined with an increase in educational research, teachers are fatigued. They are being surveyed and questioned constantly. Integrating the voice of both Irish science teachers and Irish gifted students is an essential element of my project, I don’t want to speak for the unique experiences of these cohorts without their input. I will keep pushing, and if needed, alter my data collection methodology to gather more insight into the experiences of these cohorts.
Are there any particular successes or highlights from your PhD journey to date that you’d like to share with us?
Well, winning my category in DCU’s Tell it Straight competition, and consequently being asked to represent DCU at the National Thesis in Three competition has been pretty incredible. Outside of that, speaking at the European Centre for High Ability conference in Thessaloniki was a truly fabulous experience. Having an opportunity to speak in front of the leading experts in gifted education, and receiving warm and encouraging feedback was an experience I will hold with me.
Name and Title:
Oluwayomi Akinfenwa
Representing Maynooth University
Link: Watch Oluwayomi's SHORT VIDEO
Description: Faculty: Hamilton Institute
Discipline: Data Science
PhD Project Title: Visualisations for exploratory analysis of country-level panel data and Bayesian
hierarchical model outputs.
Please explain the purpose of your research?
The goal of my research is to develop more effective methods for exploring and visually presenting
complex global data, particularly data organised by country and observed over time. This type of data is
both sourced and used by major international organisations such as the World Bank, the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and Our World in Data. These groups collect vast
amounts of information covering a broad range of topics, including health, education, the economy, and
infrastructure. My focus is to develop clear and effective visual tools that help users understand patterns
in the data, particularly when applying advanced statistical methods designed to handle grouped or
hierarchical information.
Name and Title:
Kevin Murray
Representing University of Galway
Link: Watch Kevin's SHORT VIDEO
Description: Faculty: College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Discipline: Pharmacology and Therapeutics
PhD Project Title: The Role of the Endocannabinoid System in Sensitivity and Sensitisation Resulting from Acute Pain in Humans
What particularly interested you in undertaking this research, why this topic?
Coming from a Physiotherapy background, I have worked with hundreds of people in pain. I am fascinated by the way we all respond so differently, why some people develop chronic pain, and the biological mechanisms underlying our unique pain experiences. Working with people who are experiencing chronic pain is very rewarding, and I recognise how much enhancing pain management would improve these individual’s health-related quality of life.
Name and Title:
Almudena Moreno Borrallo
Representing Trinity College Dublin
Link: Watch Almudena's SHORT VIDEO
Description: Faculty: School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Discipline: Nanomedicine
PhD Project Title: PhD Title Harnessing the potential of pH-responsive polymersomes for targeted Glioblastoma treatment
What particularly interested you in undertaking this research, why this topic?
Glioblastoma remains one of the most difficult and smartest cancers to treat, and there’s a real need for better therapeutic options. I’ve always been interested in the complexities of the molecular biology of cancer and how to use that knowledge to stop it, and this project gave me the opportunity to apply that interest in a way that could have real clinical relevance. The chance to work with patient samples and preclinical models made it feel like the research had a clear connection to real-world impact.
Name and Title:
Emma Jude Lyons
Representing UL
Link: Watch Emma Jude's SHORT VIDEO
Description: Faculty: Faculty of Science and Engineering / School of Design
Discipline: Product Design
PhD Project Title: PhD Title Creating bespoke breast prosthesis for women post-mastectomy
What impact do you hope your research will have?
I hope that my methodology to create bespoke breast prosthesis can be implemented into the HSE and cancer centers around the country so that women can have the option to have a bespoke breast prosthesis just for them. That every woman has the choice of what breast prosthesis she would like to have.
I hope that it will highlight the gaps in women’s health research, and encourage more design and innovation and research, into not only medical devices, but specifically those for women’s health.
Name and Title:
Rioko Moscardini
Representing UCD
Link: Watch Rioko's SHORT VIDEO
Description: Faculty: Earth Science
Discipline: Geoscience
PhD Project Title: Triassic Reservoir Quality
Please explain the purpose of your research?
The Irish Government are committed to halving carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving netzero by 2050 as part of the 2021 Climate Action Plan. Mitigation options include (1) carbon capture and storage (CCS) and (2) a transition away from fossil fuels to a hydrogen economy.
For the mitigations options to be viable, suitable geostorage sites need to be identified.
This research looks at the reservoir quality of subsurface Triassic reservoirs offshore Ireland and
onshore northern Ireland as a potential for geostorage applications such as Geothermal energy and Carbon Capture and Storage. The suitability of a geostorage application depends on its reservoir quality (porosity-permeability). The feasibility of storage in Triassic porous reservoirs offshore Ireland is currently not well understood, and work needs to address the risks for use of different applications.
Meet Our Judging Panel
Name and Title:
Paul Johnston
Incoming DG of IUA
Description: Paul Johnston is the new Director General of the IUA having previously been British Ambassador to Ireland. Paul joined the UK Civil Service in 1990 and has had a wide range of diplomatic roles. Paul became Ambassador to Ireland in September 2020. Before that he was UK Ambassador to the EU for Political and Security affairs from 2017 to January 2020 and Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO. From August 2011 to August 2015, he was British Ambassador to Sweden.
Name and Title:
Dr Aisling Soden
Manager - Talent, Talent Transformation & Innovation, IDA Ireland
Description: Aisling leads the Talent Pillar within the Talent, Transformation and Innovation (TTI) Department in IDA Ireland. TTI supports IDA clients to transform their business through innovation and talent development, sustaining their existing business and positioning them for future growth. The micro-credential project is an exciting initiative that responds to the needs of employees and employers for flexible lifelong learning solutions.
Aisling obtained a PhD in Geology from the University of Glasgow and has held postdoctoral positions in the University of Strathclyde and UCD. Prior to joining IDA Aisling worked as a Post-award Programme Manager in Science Foundation Ireland.
Name and Title:
Paul Sweetman
CEO of AmCham
Link: Find out more
Description: Paul is the CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland (AmCham). Before that he was Managing Partner of the public affairs consultancy Instinctif Partners. He previously held a number of senior leadership roles with Ibec including Director of Financial Services Ireland, Director of Technology Ireland, Head of Transport & Public-Private Partnership Policy and, Environment Policy Executive.
A graduate of UCD and Virginia Tech, USA, Paul also holds a Certificate in ESG from UC Berkeley Law and has completed leadership programmes at TU Dublin and Oxford University.
Name and Title:
Dr Claire O'Connell
Science Writer and Journalist
Link: Find out more
Description: Dr Claire O'Connell is an experienced communications trainer. For many years she has coached academics, from undergraduates and PhDs to professors, in the art of engaging audiences about research.
Claire holds a B.Sc. and a Ph.D. from University College Dublin and a M.Sc. in Science Communication from Dublin City University. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science.
Claire has been writing for The Irish Times on a weekly/monthly basis since 2005, and has written for numerous other publications, including Silicon Republic.
The 2024 Final in pictures
*The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia.