Timing is everything

Five hundred dollars for a minute’s work seems like a pretty sweet deal, but VU’s Matt Lee, winner of the Visualise Your Thesis event, spent more than a week preparing his entry.

“I’m really happy with how it turned out. The other presentations were of a high standard, so it was anyone’s game. The biggest challenge for me was editing the information, getting the balance right and working out the timing,” said the UK-born Institute for Health & Sport doctoral student. 

Competition brings research to wider audience

Developed by The University of Melbourne, the Visualise Your Thesis competition challenges graduate researchers to present their research in just sixty seconds using an eye-catching digital display. 

“The competition is really important because it makes research students look at their work differently, and it highlights how important it is to be able to communicate in a succinct-yet-creative-and-relatable way, making research visible to a wider audience,” said Professor Anne-Marie Hede, Dean Graduate Research.  

Winning entries make big impression

The final five submissions were judged on their visual impact and how effectively the content represented the research.  

Matt’s winning entry, entitled ‘The effect of concurrent exercise order on training adaptation in healthy active males’, made a big impression.  

Competition judge, VU’s Professor Ian Solomonides, Vice-President of Learning and Teaching, said that Matt delivered a visually striking presentation that included “just the right amount of information”.

Sarah Mokrzycki’s presentation, ‘Family diversity in Australian picture books: The importance and benefits of exploring diverse family models’, won both runner-up and the coveted People’s Choice Award.

Other entries included:

• ‘Court Whisperers; Clerks of the Courts and the power of inferior office’, by Elizabeth Wade
• ‘Sex-specific Epigenetic Adaptations to Exercise’, ​by Shanie Landen
• ‘Battery Energy Storage System for Renewable Energy Integrated Power System Stability Enhancement’, by Ujjwal Datta

“We have a fantastic research culture at VU, and we want to keep building on it, which is why it is so great to see staff and students supporting and participating in events like today.”

Professor Anne-Marie Hede - Dean, Graduate Research