Gamble pays off for winner of Three Minute Thesis competition

Published:11 September 2019

1. 3MT winner Tess Armstrong. 2. 3MT winner Tess Armstrong is congratulated by Michael Thomson from the School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences. 3. Michael Thomson congratulates 3MT runner-up Vicki Lowik. 4. Left is 3MT Highly Commended Emily Bryson and Right is VYT winner Narelle Pearse.5. VYT People's Choice Adam Rose.

Adelaide-based gambling researcher Tess Armstrong backed herself and won the CQUniversity round of the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition this week.

The promising PhD candidate also earned the People's Choice award, based on audience votes.

Despite the challenge of presenting over a video-conference link, Ms Armstrong wowed the judges with her research focus on convincing gamblers to use their head and not their heart when making decisions.

Her project aims to shift the dial away from damaging behaviours which can shatter the lives of individual gamblers and their families.

Ms Armstrong will go on to represent CQUni at the 2019 Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition in Brisbane on Friday, 4 October.

CQUni's 3MT runner-up was Sunshine Coast-based PhD candidate Vicki Lowik, who is focusing on the vulnerability of church-going women who experience domestic violence.

A highly-commended award was earned by Adelaide-based 3MT competitor Emily Bryson, who is investigating the safety and viability of composting domestic dog poo.

The afternoon concluded with judging of the parallel Visual Your Thesis (VYT) competition, which challenges researchers to present a 60-second audio-visual display.

CQUniversity PhD candidate Narelle Pearse won VYT by explaining the role of regional universities in regional development.

Her presentation will now be included in the online 'national gallery' for the 2019 Visualise Your Thesis Competition, hosted by the University of Melbourne.

Adam Rose earned the People's Choice award for VYT by presenting his studies on the health of a rural water catchment.