Want to showcase your research or other big idea? Want to present to a broad campus audience? Want to win up to $2,500 for your research? Sign up for the Grad Slam!
Part of the Graduate Student Showcase and open to all graduate students, the Grad Slam is a campus-wide competition for the best three-minute talk. This is an opportunity for graduate students to tell the campus about their research or share their thoughts on ‘big ideas that matter’. Creative presentations are welcome but all talks must include a live oral presentation and one, two, or three PowerPoint slides.
The Details
Format
- 3-minutes, 1 to 3 PowerPoint slides
- Academic and creative presentations welcome
- Up to 10 preliminary rounds
Criteria for judging
- Impact on an academic field or on society
- Clear and compelling presentation
- Geared for a general university audience
Preliminary rounds (April 12-18)
- Up to ten preliminary rounds with a maximum of fifteen participants each
- Criteria for judging: impact on an academic field or on our broader society; clear and compelling presentation; the extent to which the talk is geared towards a general university audience
- Prizes for top three presentations in each round: $50 gift card for the UCSB bookstore
- The top presentation in each preliminary round advances to the finals
Final Round (April 19, afternoon)
- Up to ten final contestants
- Distinguished judges
- Top prize: $2,500 research fund*
- Prize for two runners-up: $1,000 research fund*
- Followed by final Graduate Student Showcase reception
Resources
- Giving an Academic Talk by Jonathan Shewchuk, Associate Professor in Computer Science, University of California at Berkeley
- Giving Oral Presentations from English Communication for Scientists by Jean-luc Doumont (ed.), Nature (2010)
- Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds
- Making the Most of Your Three Minutes for 3MT: The Three Minute Thesis by Simon Clews, Director, Writing Centre, University of Melbourne
- 10 Hints for Improving Presentations for the Three Minute Thesis Competition by Danielle Fischer, Charles Darwin University
Inspiration
- TED Talks: Approximately 3-minute talks on “ideas worth spreading”
- PhD Comics Two-Minute Thesis: PhD Comics challenged graduate students to explain their work in two minutes – the best have been turned into videos!
- 3 Minute Thesis Competition Winners: Winning presentations from a multi-university thesis competition in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and the South Pacific
Ready? Submit your presentation proposal
Entries must be submitted by Friday, March 15 at 4 p.m. Selected participants will be notified by Friday, March 22.
*To be eligible for the research fund prizes, graduate students must be registered in Spring 2013 and in good academic standing. Students must also be available to compete in the Grad Slam finals on Friday, April 19 from 3-5 p.m. Students may use the funds to purchase research supplies or pay for research or conference travel. Students must submit a proposal to Graduate Division for how they will spend the funds with approval from their faculty advisor. Funds will be paid out as a stipend. The student’s faculty advisor is responsible for confirming the proposed activity does take place with expenses consistent with the award proposal.