Celebrate with us the 10th edition of the Coimbra Group Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition!
13 May 2026
Today, universities, research institutes and other organisations celebrate, for the first time, the European Doctoral Day . All around Europe more than 170 events are taking place to acknowledge the importance of doctoral education and the impact of doctoral graduates.
On this special occasion, the Coimbra Group (CG) is celebrating the 10th edition of its Three-Minute Thesis Competition, which showcases the research excellence and communication talent of doctoral candidates across our network.
Launched in 2017 by the Doctoral Studies Working Group, this annual competition is open to PhD candidates from any CG member university. Each participating university organises its own internal 3MT competition to select a local winner.
This year, 34 CG universities took part in an online vote to select their top three contestants from among the 26 local winners representing 16 countries. Following this process, three finalists have been selected.
Discover this year’s finalists
We are happy to announce the finalists of the 10th Coimbra Group 3MT edition:
- Corey Alwell, doctoral candidate in Genetics and Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin, with the presentation “Hunting for hunter-gatherers: stories from the oldest Irish DNA ever sequenced”
- Vicente Bru-García, doctoral candidate in Translation and Interpreting studies, University of Granada, with the presentation “Please, listen”
- Lokesh Jain, doctoral candidate in Numerical modelling, University of Edinburgh, with the presentation “Ice mélange: the cork in the glacial bottle”
Our warmest congratulations to all participants, and a special round of applause for our 2026 finalists!
The live-streamed final will take place at our Annual Conference and General Assembly hosted by the University of Granada, on Thursday 18 June, from 14:30 to 15:30 (CET), where a jury will select the winner. Corey, Vicente, Lokesh: see you in Granada!
Voices from 3MT Alumni
As we mark the European Doctoral Day and celebrate a milestone year for our competition, we are pleased to share highlights from the past nine 3MT winners in a short video.
They reflect on what participating in the 3MT competition meant to them, its impact on their careers, the challenge of presenting their thesis on stage, and the skills they have gained.
For further info about the Coimbra Group 3MT annual competition, please visit this page: Coimbra Group 3-Minute-Thesis competition | Coimbra.