A captivating topic and plenty of passion propelled Cassidy Wallis into the winner’s circle at UBC Okanagan’s sixth annual Three Minute Thesis competition.
The Master of Arts in Psychology student wowed judges and audience members alike with her presentation, Non-offending Parental Support and its Impact on Delays in Reporting Child Sexual Abuse. She took home first place and the top prize of $3,000, according to UBCO in a news release.
“The experience has been a thoroughly enjoyable one and I am so thrilled to have won such a tough competition,” says Wallis, a graduate student in the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences. “I think 3MT is a very valuable component of our academic experience. It emphasizes the importance of communicating our research effectively and how our research benefits others.”
READ MORE: UBC Okanagan 3 Minute Thesis goes beyond simple research presentations
Kelowna’s Innovation Centre was filled to capacity for the final event on March 14, which saw eight graduate students take three minutes each to explain years of research to audience members. the release said.
Engineering doctoral student Sepehr Zarif Mansour was awarded second place and $2,000 for his presentation, Sensor-less Micromanipulation, while Megan Udala, a doctoral student in psychology, took home the People’s Choice award and $1,000 for her presentation, Legal Discrimination.
“The 3MT event provides an incredible opportunity for our campus and the community at large to get a snapshot of the amazing research being conducted by our graduate students,” says Dwayne Tannant, with of the College of Graduate Studies at UBC’s Okanagan campus.
READ MORE: Fast-talking UBC Okanagan students to compete for $6,000
As the winner of the 3MT final, Wallis will travel to this year’s Western Regional 3MT Competition hosted by the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George April 17.
From there, the top three presenters will win an opportunity to compete in the nationals, hosted by the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies.
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