Madeleine Kündgen presents her thesis at 3-M-Thesis competition

On February 26, more than 100 spectators gathered to cheer on the nine university finalists at the final of the "Three Minute Thesis®" competition in Jena. In this internationally renowned format, doctoral candidates present their entire dissertation in just three minutes – using only a single slide.

Among the inspiring finalists was Madeleine Kündgen from our consortium, who captivated the audience with her vivid and insightful presentation titled “The Hidden World Below”, showcasing her research on subsurface ecosystems.

In the end, Sayali Sanjay Hanamghar from the Matthias Schleiden Institute for Genetics won both the jury and audience prizes with her presentation “50 Shades of Yellow”. Ngoc Dong Nhi Vo from the Department of Internal Medicine earned second place in the jury ranking for her talk “A Recipe for Kidney Health”.

The "Three Minute Thesis®" competition was originally launched in 2008 at the University of Queensland, Australia, and is now held worldwide. Brought to Europe by the Coimbra Group, it offers a dynamic stage for doctoral researchers to communicate complex research to a broad audience. As a member of this network of leading European universities, the University of Jena proudly hosts its own annual competition.

Congratulations to all participants for their creativity, clarity, and courage in bringing science to the stage!

https://www.uni-jena.de/293073/three-minute-thesis-competition-2025