Carole Liao, from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics (Faculty of Science and Engineering), was crowned winner of the 2026 University of Liverpool ‘Three Minute Thesis’ (3MT®) competition for her presentation “Sentence first – Verdict afterwards: Developing a Helicopter Pilot Model to Preview Flight Trials outcomes”.
Carole received a prize of a £100 voucher and will go on to represent the University at the UK quarter finals competition to be hosted by Vitae in June.
Arnita Arifin (below with guest judge Dr Martha Beard, Vitae) from the School of Law, was selected as this year’s Judge’s runner up and impressed the judging panel with her presentation on “Catch me if you can: Closing the Virtual Assets Laundering Gap in Indonesia”.
Chloe Timmins-Young (pictured below with Sabina Frediani, Director of Communications and Public Affairs), from the Institute of Systems, Molecular & Integrative Biology won the People’s Choice Award, which was voted for by the audience on the day, with her presentation “Pancreatic Cancer: The Power of One Letter”.
The University of Liverpool’s 3MT® grand final took place on 17 June in the Hope Street Hotel and saw nine researchers from across the three faculties present in front of a panel of judges and a live audience to be crowned Liverpool’s champion.
The presentations covered a diverse range of research topics from cancer research, nanoplastics and ecology, architecture and representation of nineteenth-century ballerinas.
Dr James Howard, Director of the Academy, said:
“Many congratulations to Carole, Chloe and Arnita on their awards. The 3MT® Final is now established as one of the most highly anticipated events in the University calendar. This year’s finalists and winners again highlighted the sheer depth of talent in our postgraduate community, and the judges were hugely impressed by all the presentations. 3MT® provides a fantastic development opportunity and I’d encourage PGRs across the University to consider entering the competition in 2027”.
What is 3MT®?
The 3MT® challenges researchers to present their research to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes, using just one slide.
It was developed by the University of Queensland in 2008 and since its inaugural event the popularity of the competition has reached truly global levels, with 900 universities holding events across 85 countries.
The finalists
Selected from a series of faculty heats, the nine University of Liverpool entries who made it to the final were:
Charvi Trivedi “Nanoplastics: The Invisible Threat” (Health and Life Sciences)
Linda Cantwell “Nutrition Prehabilitation in Head and Neck Cancer: Thriving, Not Just Surviving” (Health and Life Sciences)
Peter Williams “Landscapes of Atomic Optimism by Dame Sylvia Crowe: Exploring the Past, Present, and Future of Nuclear Energy Infrastructure and Landscapes” (Humanities and Social Sciences)
Carole Liao “Sentence first – Verdict afterwards: Developing a Helicopter Pilot Model to Preview Flight Trials outcomes” (Science and Engineering)
Olga Tereszkowska-Kaminska “The slippery modifications of cancer cells” (Health and Life Sciences)
Arnita Arifin “Catch me if you can: Closing the Virtual Assets Laundering Gap in Indonesia” (Humanities and Social Sciences)
Kaya Purchase “’The Rising Stars of London’: reclaiming the lost voices of nineteenth century ballerinas” (Humanities and Social Sciences)
Chloe Timmins-Young “Pancreatic Cancer: The Power of One Letter” (Health and Life Sciences)
Muneeb Ul Haq “What are my chances?” (Health and Life Sciences)
This year’s 3MT finalists pictured with Pro Vice Chancellor Professor Gavin Brown. Pictures by Gareth Jones.