Three Minute Thesis

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Business School Lecturer wins two top prizes in local round of UK thesis competition

Bath Spa University’s Bath Business School Lecturer and PhD student, Guanhao Tong, is celebrating after he was successful in the local round of the national Vitae Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition.

The Three Minute Thesis competition is a unique challenge within the world of research, which asks PhD students to effectively explain their research in a compelling way for three minutes, in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience, utilising only a single powerpoint slide.

The Bath Spa University judging panel was made up of Professor Georgina Andrews - Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost (Chair), Professor Helen King - Director of Learning, Innovation, Development and Skills, and Professor Linda LaVelle - Professor of Education and Ethics Lead in the School of Education.

The prizes were £250 (1st place), £100 (runner up) and £50 (People’s Choice) in the form of gift vouchers. Guanhao Tong impressed the judges so much that he was also victorious in clinching the People's Choice award, leading to a double win for his presentation on 'Unpacking Tourist Experience: A case study of Chinese Tourists Visiting the UK'.

Guanhao said:

“It still feels unreal that I achieved a double win in this competition, but yes, I made it. Thanks to the greatest support from my two supervisors, Dr Li Li and Dr Ben Davis in the Bath Business School." 

“I would also like to send a big thank you to the event holders, it was a great chance to get to know other PhD students and talk about our progress in different fields, especially as it is not an easy task both physically and mentally. It is not about winning, but for the chance to talk about my research and build my confidence on my research journey. 

“I always believe that all the effort will pay back to you one day, if not yet, then just wait and try harder. I am already looking forward to the next round of this competition.”

The Three Minute Thesis competition is an academic competition developed by the University of Queensland, Australia. Its success has led to the establishment of local and national competitions in several countries.

Since 2014 Vitae has proudly hosted the UK competition which is the culmination of finalists from Vitae member Higher Education Institutions throughout the UK.

Following his success, Guanhao will now have the opportunity to represent Bath Spa University at the Vitae UK Three Minute Thesis competition’s upcoming regional and national finals, with the overall final taking place on 15 September 2023.