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On March 18, 2025, Schulich Law PhD candidate Loveth Ovedje (LLM ’24) was one of 12 finalists who took the stage in front of a packed house of family, friends, faculty, classmates, and colleagues, to compete in this year’s 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.

Hosted by CBC’s Brett Ruskin, and organized by the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the annual competition gives students in PhD and research-based master’s programs across the university the opportunity to present on their areas of expertise for a chance to win cash prizes and compete at a regional level.

Participants were challenged to present their research to a non-specialist audience with only one PowerPoint slide permitted as a visual aid and a strict time limit of three minutes.

With a single presentation slide displaying a photo of a fishing village in Nigeria below the title “When the Nets Come Up Empty” Ovedje confidently took the stage. She went on to explain how her PhD research will focus on the gap in legal scholarship that leaves developing countries at a disadvantage, as they face barriers to accessing and utilizing climate finance for renewable energy development – all in under 180 seconds.

“I was accustomed to speaking in front of groups of people, having delivered many seminars and presentations throughout my education,” she says. “However, preparing for and presenting my thesis statement, concisely in plain language, to a non-academic audience was an entirely different – but incredibly beneficial – experience. It forced me to think about my work differently, breaking down jargon in the simplest terms and building a digestible story to share with the public.”

The 3MT finals showcased the impactful and varied work that graduate students from across the university are engaged in — from brain leaks and bone fractures to witch hunts and potato predictions. Ultimately, Biomedical Engineering PhD student Ahmed Ramadan was named the winner of the competition.

“I am very grateful for the encouragement and support I received from Schulich Law’s Graduate Studies Coordinator Shannon Langton, my PhD supervisor Professor Patricia Galvão Ferreira, OpenThink Academic Director Professor Lynne Robinson, and Vanessa Lent with the Writing Centre,” shares Ovedje. “The entire 3MT process, from my first draft to the final performance, helped build my confidence and belief in myself. I can honestly say that having gone through it all, I feel changed.”