Three Minute Thesis(3MT) Competition 2024
The Finals of the Three Minute Thesis(3MT) Competition 2024 organized by the Young Scientists Association (YSA) of the National Institute of Fundamental Studies (NIFS) Kandy was held on the 09th of July 2024 at the Cyril Ponnamperuma Auditorium of the NIFS. The Competition originated at the University of Queensland in Australia in 2008 and has since gained popularity worldwide and YSA has been granted permission to participate as one of the hosting institutions. This competition was organized by the YSA for the fifth consecutive year, creating a platform for the undergraduate and graduate students at various universities of Sri Lanka to present their research in a simple but informative manner to a non-specialist audience within a three minute time frame.
The preliminary round of the competition was held on 12th June 2024, from 40 competitors, 10 candidates were selected for the finals. The panel of judges of the final round of the 3MT competition consisted of Dr. Sumali Dissanayake, senior lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Systems at the Faculty of Agriculture, Rajarata University of Sri lanka; Dr. Udayana Ranathunga, senior lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya; Mr. Dimuthu Thammitage the General Manager at ESOFT Metro Campus Kandy Branch as well as a lecturer in both IR and Management disciplines and; Mr. Manura weerasinghe, Seasoned Toastmaster with over 05 years of experience in public speaking, and currently serving as the District webmaster for District 82.
Ms. Sanduni Perera emerged as the winner with her presentation “Effect of Phytochemicals on Growth Performance, Meat Quality and Nutrient Digestibility of Broilers Under Heat Stress” followed by Ms. Thilini Wathsala as 1st runner up and Ms. Chamika Sewwandi as 2nd runner-up. Ms. Ishara Weerasinghe also won the People’s choice award, receiving the highest votes from the audience present. The young scientists in Sri Lanka had the chance to enhance their presenting abilities as well as discover how to explain scientific ideas to a non-scientific audience through this competition, which would be very helpful for their future careers.
