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The 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) is an academic competition that showcases ºÚÁÏÍø´óʼǒs innovative PhD candidates, who have just 3 minutes to explain their world-changing research and why it is important.

The 2025 Business School 3MT Competition Heat was on 14 July, and was well-attended both in person and online, by academics, professional staff, and our HDR students, where 8 Business School PhD students presented their research in this year’s 3MT.

The 3MT competition was first developed in 2008 by the University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia. Each year, ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç faculties hold their own 3MT Heats, and the top three contestants go on to compete in the ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç 3MT Finals. The winner of the ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç 3MT Final will participate in the Virtual Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition Final at The University of Queensland.

This year Mohamed Hanafy Kotb Ibrahim, PhD student in the School of Risk and Actuarial Studies, ranked second at the 2025 ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç Business School 3MT Competition Heat with his thesis paper: Using Smart Driving Data and AI to Set Fair Car Insurance Premiums.Ìý

Mohamed then had the opportunity to compete against 21 other participants in the ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç 2025 3MT Finals, held on 2 September 2025.

In celebration of this achievement, the ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç Business School EDI team spoke to Mohamed to learn more about his exciting journey and what it takes to compete at these significant competitions.ÌýÌý

Can you tell us about your 3MT Journey?

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) asks you to explain years of work in just 180 seconds. That limit made me focus on one thing: what my research means for everyday people. I'm grateful for the results, being the runner-up at the Business School level and third place at the ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç University Final.

That’s a huge achievement! Why did you decide to join this year’s 3MT competition?

My primary goal was to test the fundamental clarity of my research idea. I wanted to see if my work could connect with a broad audience. If I couldn't explain my research to my non-academic family members, how could I claim it had real-world relevance?

I also recognized my responsibility as a researcher to share findings with the broader community. Academic knowledge shouldn't remain trapped in journals and conference halls; it should be accessible to the people it's designed to help. The competition provided an ideal platform to fulfill this obligation to public engagement.

I also saw it as professional training: if I can explain my work in three minutes to a broad audience, I can explain it to regulators and industry partners. Finally, I felt a strong desire to represent our School and showcase the positive contribution actuarial science can make to society.

How did you prepare for the 3MT?

I built the talk around a simple story: Two people drive the same car on the same roads. One drives carefully, the other drives aggressively. Should they pay the same premium? Most people say no.

From there I:

• Choose one message: "The road should judge, not age, gender, or address." Price insurance by how people drive, not by who they are or where they live.
• Use one clean visual that hinted at where/when/how someone drives, shaped like a fingerprint to suggest a unique driving style.
• Rehearsed with people outside my area. If a word needed extra explanation, I replaced it.

Can you tell us bit about why your research matters to everyday drivers?

Can you tell us one highlight from your 3MT experience

The 3MT competition reminded me that research serves everyone, not just academics. I have a duty to explain my work and show why it matters for our society and that research is a public act. Yes, we build methods and models; but our real work is to make knowledge usable. I didn’t feel like I was simplifying my research; I felt like I was clarifying it.

I also learned to respect the limit. Three minutes forces you to choose: one story, one message, one visual. Finally, I learned to welcome discomfort. Rehearsing out loud, taking direct feedback, and standing under lights. The most successful moments came when I could see recognition and understanding in people's eyes, when abstract concepts clicked and became relevant to their own experiences.

You made it all the way to the ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç competition and came 3rd! Do you have any tips for future participants to help them succeed as well?

The 3MT reminded me that the value of research lies not only in technical novelty but in the difference it can make for everyday people. I am grateful to my supervisors and colleagues at the School of Risk & Actuarial Studies and to ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç for the opportunity to share my work.

If there is one thing I hope people will take away from my presentation, it is this:

Next time when you drive your car, please remember your driving behavior, not your birthday, will decide what you will pay.

This is the message I will keep telling people, in three minutes or in a thousand words.

Congratulation to all of our 2025 ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç Business School 3MT Competition winners!

Winner, SDG Award, and People’s Choice Award:ÌýKa Wing Chan

School of Marketing

Title: EV Charging Availability and Grocery Store Performance

Ìý

Runner-up:ÌýMohamed Ibrahim

School of Risk and Actuarial Studies

Title: Using Smart Driving Data and AI to Set Fair Car Insurance Premiums

Ìý

Third place:ÌýYawei Wang

School of Risk and Actuarial Studies

Title: Retirement Income Product Innovation

We also greatly appreciate the judging panel;

• DrÌýChelsea Phillips, Societal Impact Postdoctoral Researcher at ABDC and Visiting Fellow at ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç Business School
• DrÌýSander De Groote, Senior Lecturer, School of Accounting, Auditing and Taxation
• DrÌýMichael Cahalane, Senior Lecturer, School of Information Systems and Technology Management
• AndÌýAssociate Professor Weiting Zheng, School of Management and Governance