UMP PhD student excel in national-level 3MT Competition

KUANTAN, 10 June 2021 - A doctorate student from the Faculty of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering Technology (FTKMA), Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), Mohd Hilmy Naim Mohd Yakin, was announced the winner for the national-level Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition in the Technology and Engineering category.

The competition, which was held online for the first time, was organised by International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in collaboration with Universiti Malaya (UM). The 3MT competition is an academic competition established by the University of Queensland, Australia, for postgraduate students to deliver an oral presentation in a more engaging way on a research topic and its importance in 3 minutes.

According to the Dean of the Institute of Postgraduate Studies (IPS), Professor Datin Dr. Mimi Sakinah Abdul Munaim, this competition can cultivate academic communication skills and presentation of ideas.
“This competition can also increase their ability to explain their research effectively within 3 minutes using appropriate language before the audience that is mostly not from the field of expertise,” she said.
For Hilmi, he did not believe his visual presentation titled ‘Predicting Crack Initiation and Propagation with Peridynamics’ managed to catch the judges’ eyes that he was announced as the winner that bagged him RM1,500.

He explained that the full support of IPS, especially the Dean and intensive training sessions with experienced coaches, Dr. Chiam Kee Swan, Dr. Ashwin Charles Benedict and Normala Samsudin, really helped him in ensuring all his research findings could be presented well within 3 minutes.

Along with Hilmy representing the university in the national-level 3MT competition were Intan Syahidah Zulkafa from the Centre for Modern Languages (PBM) and Ling Jin Kiong from the Faculty of Industrial Sciences and Technology (FSTI). Meanwhile, Professor Datin Dr. Mimi Sakinah hoped that this victory can inspire other students to participate in the programme and share their research results in such a way that can be understood by others.

By: Kalpana Ramachandran, Ump Institute of Postgraduate Studies
Translation by: Dr. Rozaimi Abu Samah, Engineering College/Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology