Visualise Your Thesis Competition
The Visualise Your Thesis TM competition is an online audio-visual and multimedia competition that showcases a researcher's project within a 60 second time frame.
What is it?
Visualise Your Thesis (VYT) challenges graduate researchers at any stage of their candidature to present their projects in a 60-second, eye-catching, audio-visual digital display. Using a pre-supplied template, entrants are tasked with developing a striking e-poster presentation that succinctly describes their research and its potential benefits to a non-specialist audience. The competition provides graduate researchers with an opportunity to build and apply their digital literacy skills, ensuring they are workplace-ready, and provides institutions with an opportunity to showcase graduate research.
The competition provides students with an opportunity to build and apply digital literacy skills. By creating a “visual elevator pitch” they will develop crucial employability skills including effective communication, digital literacy, and visual storytelling. They also build their awareness of open access to information and copyright.
Why do it?
- Make a one-minute explainer
- Gain skills
- Improve your research profile
- Use it everywhere
- There are prizes
Prizes
- First place: $2,000
- Runner-up: $1,000
- People's choice award: $500
Check out last year’s Deakin entries to get the idea.
Who is eligible to enter?
The Visualise Your Thesis competition is open to currently-enrolled graduate researchers (including students enrolled in Master Philosophy, Masters by Research, PhD or Professional Doctorate programmes) at any stage of their candidature who are active and attending. Competitors who are eligible on the date of their first presentation in their local competition will be considered eligible for the duration of that year's competition.
Not eligible to enter the competition are
- Honours students
- Masters by coursework students
- Graduate researchers on a leave of absence
- Lapsed candidates
Finals
Deakin University
The Deakin finals will be held online in conjunction with the Three Minute Thesis competition on August 19, 2021.
Winners
Judges will determine a winner and a runner-up from each Faculty. A Deakin final will take place to award a winner and runner-up. A Viewer’s Choice winner will also be determined based on online votes from University students and staff and each of the winners, runner-up and people's choice. .
International
Winners from Deakin and each of the other domestic institutions compete against each other in an online International Competition final. This will be hosted by The University of Melbourne in October 2021; details will be advertised shortly.
How to enter
The competition to enter and the VYT team have organised resources and support.
Register your interest now in the CloudDeakin Visualise Your Thesis site.
You can self-enrol right now!
Entries close July 14, 2021.
The basic rules and criteria are outlined below. For further information download the 2021 VYT Entrant Pack (DOCX, 716.7KB) and register in the CloudDeakin VYT site for support and advice and to keep up-to-date with training news and updates.
Rules
Using the Visualise Your Thesis template
A PowerPoint template will be available for you to download via the Visualise Your Thesis CloudDeakin site.
Technical requirements
- Your presentation will have three slides; one content slide which will be displayed for a maximum of 60 seconds, and two bookend slides
- The bookend slides are set to display for five seconds – you can add additional reference slides if required
- The maximum file size allowed is 100 MB
- You may use a combination of images, music or other audio-visual elements
- Any elements used to create your video must be referenced and comply with the competition’s copyright rules.
Supervisor approval
You should discuss your Visualise Your Thesis competition participation with your supervisor/advisor. In particular, you should discuss your entry and potential implications for prior publication, patent and grant applications, and intellectual property (IP) rights and responsibilities. Supervisor/advisor approval to enter the competition forms part of your submission checklist.
Judging criteria
Copyright
Copyright compliance forms part of the scholarly citizenship judging criteria. All content included in submitted entries must be copyright compliant and conform to the guidelines below. Full and correct copyright information is a hurdle requirement for the competition. Training videos and examples will answer most copyright questions and extra help is available from the Deakin Copyright Office. The Copyright Office will offer a workshop and drop in sessions to ask for assistance with attributions and acknowledgements.
| Category | Criteria |
|---|---|
| Content |
|
| Impact |
|
| Sound (optional) | If included,
|
Deakin University 2020 VYT competition results
Winner and People's Choice Award: Bipasha Kashyap - An Objective aid for the Assessment of Speech Disorders: Speech Metric Self Diagnosis Voice Tool
Runner Up: Isabella Bower - Architecture with Feeling: Measuring emotional and neurophysiological response to the built environment