 
The three-minute thesis gives an amazing insight into the future 
and it's a lot brighter than what the newspapers would have you believe.
Twenty competitors from UNSW Australia have just three minutes to present their research to a general audience. 
In the cut throat world of research funding, the ability to clearly communicate your ideas is invaluable.
Well welcome, let me take three minutes to introduce you to the exciting world of contemporary music education.
Can I get a show of hands, who has tried to learn an instrument before?
 
As an engineer, I have the power to change the world.
And unlike some politicians, I choose to use my powers for good. 
So, in my PHD, I'm helping to make wind energy cheaper than fossil fuels.
Well, the safe sex message has failed.  It's estimated that koalas use condoms just 0% of the time. 
So what we would really like is a vaccine.
It was quite a challenge to condense down three or so years of research into just three
minutes, 
but doing that enabled me to get to really the crux 
and what the important parts of what I'd been doing were
and I found that that a really good experience.
There's prize money at stake, along with the winner representing UNSW
at the Trans-Tasman competition. 
It's misery picking a winner, it really is terribly hard
Every single one was compelling and I can't have higher praise than that.
Being a judge has been fabulous.  It's such a wonderful opportunity to hear from the student researchers themselves
and to get a sense of our future, from what they've been doing, and their passion for that.
It's just been fabulous.
For these kids to get to as far as they've done tonight,
I think well done guys.  Everybody is very very proud of you.
They were actually really good. 
 The thing I got out of it is, if you're really passionate about something, go get it.
Yeah I really would like to come to university
because I've gained some great knowledge from today's session
and it has really changed my opinion to coming to university.
This year's competition saw an unusual twist.
 For the first time, the runner up also took
out the People's Choice Award
and the Aspire Award judged by high school students.
I was very surprised this evening to win three awards.
I feel extraordinarily honoured especially since those awards
were judged by the audience, high school students in the audience and by the judges. 
The standard of the other talks was so high,
and I feel really really lucky to have won amongst such an amazing group. 
And now, for the overall winner.  
I would really recommend having a go at the three minute thesis
to anybody doing their PHD because it's so important to be able to talk about your work to non experts.
I hope that wind turbine manufacturers can use the research that I've made
to produce lighter and cheaper low wind speed blades
which means that then you can put them in so many more places
which means that you can have a lot more renewable energy
and more quickly reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.   
