Public engagement competitions are PGR calendar staples, and events like 3 Minute Thesis, FameLab and Science Slam draw huge audiences from across the University. The events themselves are incredibly entertaining and the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in the PGR community (even whilst we are online!). In this blog post, you can read more about these competitions from the perspective of this year’s winners- why they entered, what their experience was like, and what they’ve gained from taking part…

I entered the 3MT competition to firstly, develop my communication skills and be able to speak to a wider audience and secondly, get to know cool areas of research that I never knew existed! I started my PhD in March and have not had the opportunity to talk let alone present my project to anyone except my supervisor! Thus, this was a fantastic opportunity to hone my speaking skills and be able to talk about my project in its most basic form without all the science jargon.

 I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being part of 3MT as I had the chance to meet new people and learn about everyone’s interesting projects. I am not going to lie; at times the competition was stressful and nerve racking but in the end, it was just an unbelievable opportunity.

My favourite bit about the 3MT finals was having those who are dearest to my heart in the audience. I invited my friends and family from different parts of the world and for the first time, I managed to tell them (simply and succinctly!) what my research is about. Let’s face it, we all have that friend/family member that we don’t know what they do, and I really didn’t want to be that person. This competition was the perfect chance for me to clearly tell them about my work and to show them how excited I am for the next three years. It was also heart-warming having them when my name was announced as the winner. I am so happy I got to share this moment with them. That moment has definitely made me more driven and invested in my project, as I understood the impact my research can have on public health. I will remember this competition for a very long time.

Last but certainly not least, I have gained tremendous confidence in speaking about my project and feel much more at ease with public speaking. The 3MT has reinforced my desire to enter into a career which encompasses public engagement!

You can watch Rita’s presentation from the 3MT Final on YouTube.

I entered the 2021 UofG Science Slam for a first, proper go at science communication. The event consists of eight PGR students giving short talks on their research to a non-specialist audience, who then vote on their favourite of the bunch. As part of our preparation for the event, we had some one-to-one training with a professional science communicator (ensuring we wouldn’t embarrass ourselves on the big night), so I figured at the very least I’d learn some handy tips and tricks for the future. As things turned out, though, my talk on gravitational wave astronomy turned enough heads to win the day!

Preparing to speak to the public about my work was daunting at first, but the competitive element really drove me to refine my talk into something exciting and unique. I found myself trying to consider the perspective of the audience at every turn and what ideas would best relate to them. In the process, I realised that it’s pretty tough to condense months of research into a few minutes (who knew?) but by the end of it I had compiled a satisfying bank of analogies and references that had also helped me to see my own work in new and unexpected ways.

I’m sure that when future opportunities in science outreach cross my path, I’ll be eager to give them my best shot after this. The Science Slam was a fantastic experience, and I’m glad I made the leap and took it on – it's really opened my eyes to the benefits of public outreach. Science is exciting and diverse, and we owe it to one another to share this with wider audiences!

You can watch Christian’s Science Slam performance on YouTube

 To be entirely honest, I entered FameLab on a whim.

I already knew about the 3 Minute Thesis competition, because I know someone who got into the final a few years ago. I was already planning to enter that when I first heard about FameLab and I figured I might as well enter both. They have a very similar premise; effectively communicate some research in three minutes. It sounded like a fun challenge. What’s the worst that could happen — I spent some time figuring out a good way to explain my research to people unfamiliar with it? Hardly time wasted.

One of the best things about FameLab was all the training we got. The first training was with Jamie Gallagher, a public engagement expert. There I learnt about engaging people over video calls, optimising my set-up and more general public speaking skills. Once I got through to the UK final we had an almost week-long Masterclass, that taught us about all kinds of public engagement, including planning activities and speaking to journalists. These classes would have been incredibly valuable on their own, but having to put their advice into action really made it stick, and helped me figure out which parts worked for me.

The actual heats themselves were a lot of fun, there was barely time to be nervous about my own speech as everyone else’s were always so engaging! It can be easy to get wrapped up in your own area but there’s so much fascinating research going on around the country.

It might be easy to think of things like FameLab as just for those confident with public speaking, or already interested in outreach. In my experience the value in these opportunities is far more in the skills you learn along the way, that have uses far beyond the initial competition. We spend so much of our life on our research, why not take the opportunity at improving how we communicate it to those around us?

You can find Becky on Twitter and watch her FameLab final performance on YouTube.

3MT, FameLab and Science Slam will be back in 2022, but if this post has inspired you to get involved in public engagement events, we’re running a Visualise Your Thesis competition this August. VYT challenges PGRs to create a 60-second video about their research and its importance. For more information, see the VYT Moodle Page and keep an eye on our Twitter and Instagram for updates.

Blog post edited by Charlie Rex, PGR Intern (@CharloitteRex1)