Background
The Coop Colloquium series, organised by the ICA-AP Committee on Cooperative Research (CCR), serves as a platform to share knowledge and strengthen research capacity across the region. Each edition brings together scholars and practitioners to engage with emerging issues in cooperative research, practice, and policy.
The 16th edition focuses on preparing participants for the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition that will be introduced at the Young and Emerging Scholars (YES) Workshop during the 19th ICA-AP Research Conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka (23–24 November 2025). The 3MT, developed by the University of Queensland, challenges researchers to explain their thesis in just three minutes with one slide, using language suitable for a non-specialist audience.
This colloquium is designed as a practical training session to help YES participants and other early-career cooperative researchers communicate their work effectively. By learning to present complex research in a concise and engaging way, participants will be better equipped to highlight the relevance of their studies to academics, practitioners, and policymakers, while also strengthening their professional skills and confidence.
What is The Three Minute Thesis (3MT)?
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a research communication competition originally developed by the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia in 2008. It challenges doctoral students to present a compelling oration on their thesis and its significance in just three minutes, using only one static PowerPoint slide and no props, animations, or electronic media.
The aim of the competition is not to “dumb down” research, but to cultivate academic, presentation, and research communication skills by encouraging students to explain their research in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.
Since its inception, 3MT has grown into a global event, now held in over 900 universities across 85+ countries worldwide. It is widely recognised as an effective training exercise that:
* Helps researchers develop the ability to summarise complex content clearly and concisely.
* Increases their confidence in public speaking and academic visibility.
* Promotes interdisciplinary understanding by making research accessible to broader audiences.
* Engages policymakers, practitioners, and the public in appreciating the value of academic research.
For cooperative scholars, mastering 3MT is particularly valuable as it strengthens their ability to present research addressing social, economic, and environmental challenges. This aligns closely with the cooperative movement’s contribution to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Why this matters for cooperative scholars
Cooperative research often addresses multi-dimensional social challenges (inequality, sustainability, food security, social innovation). The 3MT format helps researchers to distil and communicate the core of their work to non-specialist audiences — strengthening policy influence, networking, outreach and career opportunities. For YES participants, strong 3MT skills will increase visibility of cooperative research within academic and practitioner circles across the Asia-Pacific.
Colloquium objectives
* Explain the background, purpose and format of the 3MT competition.
* Provide practical, step-by-step guidance on structuring a 3MT talk and designing a single effective slide.
* Share first-hand lessons, tricks and pitfalls from an experienced mentor/participant.
* Offer an interactive Q&A and short practice prompts to help participants refine their pitch.
* Provide a resource pack (slide template, checklist and exemplar links) for follow-up preparation before the YES workshop
Registration
This colloquium is open to PhD candidates, YES participants, early-career academics, and researchers of all disciplines who wish to strengthen their research communication skills. Register here. Registered participants will receive the webinar details one day before the event.
About the Panellist
Dr Sidsel Grimstad (Moderator)
Vice-Chair, ICA-AP Committee on Cooperative Research (CCR) | Adjunct, Griffith Business School
Dr Sidsel Grimstad is Vice-Chair of the ICA-AP CCR and an adjunct at Griffith University. Since 2021 she has supported the organisation of annual cooperative research conferences across the Asia-Pacific and leads the committee’s online colloquium series. Her work covers cooperative housing, comparative cooperative policy and knowledge exchange across regions. Sidsel will moderate the session, open and close the colloquium, and steer the Q&A and practical exercises.
Dr. Heidi Wechtler
Senior Lecturer, Management at the Newcastle Business School and Deputy Head of the School Research Training
Dr. Heidi Wechtler is a Senior Lecturer in Management at the Newcastle Business School and Deputy Head of School Research Training. Her research explores how workers navigate power, identity, and uncertainty in a changing world of work, with a focus on how broader systems such as global mobility, leadership practices, social identities, and external disruptions shape the employment experience. Her work spans a wide range of human resource topics, including recruitment, employee turnover, career management, expatriation, and diversity management.
She has published in leading international journals such as Human Relations, Journal of Applied Psychology, Contemporary Accounting Research, Leadership Quarterly, Journal of World Business, International Business Review, and Management International Review. A statistician by training, she has contributed to the Academy of Management’s “Meet the Experts” sessions on quantitative methods.
Prior to joining Newcastle, she worked for seven years as a statistical research engineer at the Sorbonne Business School in Paris, where she taught courses on quantitative and mixed methods at the Research Masters and Doctoral levels. At Newcastle, she oversees a PhD program of over 110 students, leads the development of the doctoral training curriculum, and organises the university’s annual HDR Festival and Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.
Dr. Sabiha Matin
Lecturer & 3MT Thesis Mentor, University of Newcastle
Dr. Sabiha Matin is an early-career researcher engaged in HDR training and doctoral mentoring at the University of Newcastle. She has direct experience with the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, both as a participant and mentor, and was the Winner of the University of Newcastle 3MT Competition in 2020. Drawing on this achievement, she brings practical insights into preparing, rehearsing, and delivering a compelling three-minute research pitch.
In this session, she will share lessons learned, highlight common pitfalls, and provide advice on how to transform the 3MT experience into a valuable tool for research communication, networking, and professional development.
