Visualise Your Thesis

Thank you to everyone who took part in the Visualise Your Thesis (VYT) competition for 2020! It was an incredibly successful event and we were so pleased with the response we had in this, our first year taking part.

We were overwhelmed with the response and the high standard of presentations, receiving 39 entries across all faculties, including our international campuses.

You can view the 2020 entries here.

Visualise Your Thesis (VYT) was developed in 2015 by the University of Melbourne.

The competition calls for participants to create an engaging 60 second audio visual representation of their thesis that can be received by a general audience, using a pre-supplied template.

View the 2019 Finalists here.

Entry is open to graduate research students from any discipline, who are currently enrolled in any stage of their PhD, MPhil, and Professional Doctorate (Research).

Monash will run its own local competition, with the winner being submitted to the online international competition.

• Showcase your graduate research project
• Celebrate your research and raise your public profile - entries will be published on our Monash VYT Bridges site
• Develop your ability to effectively present your research to a general audience
• Build essential digital communication skills
• Great professional development opportunity - students who submit an entry that is assessed as eligible by the Monash University Copyright Adviser will receive 2 hours of MDP credit
• Have the chance to win great prizes, and represent Monash at the international final (online)

The Visualise Your Thesis competition is open to currently-enrolled graduate researchers (i.e. students enrolled in M.Phil., Masters by Research, Ph.D. or Professional Doctorate programmes) at any stage of their candidature who are active and attending.

Not eligible to enter the competition are;

• Honours students
• Masters by coursework students (even if their program has a research/thesis component)
• Graduate researchers on a leave of absence (e.g. inactive and not attending)
• Lapsed candidate

1. Register your interest by completing this form

1. We will check your eligibility
2. Once eligibility is confirmed, you will receive a Competition Kit with information about how to participate, including the PowerPoint template you need to use
3. Registrations close at 11.59pm (AEST) on 15 June 2020

2. Prepare your entry

1. Create a 60 second, audio visual presentation of your research project using the PowerPoint template provided
2. All entries will need to be reviewed by our Copyright Adviser before submission (instructions for this can be found in your Competition Kit)

3. Submit your entry

1. Upload your presentation video to Bridges
2. Complete the ‘Submission Checklist’ form (provided with the Competition Kit)
3. Entries must be submitted by 11.59pm (AEST) on 17 July 2020

Entries will be judged centrally by our judging panel (TBA). The winning entry from Monash will be submitted to the International Visualise Your Thesis Competition.

If you have any questions please contact the Monash Graduate Research Office

IMPACT (Score / 20)

• How well designed, creative, innovative and engaging is the entry?
• Is it visually striking and memorable?
• Does it attract from a distance and deliver details up close?
• Does it make a good first impression and then offer rich content on further examination?
• Does it make the most of the available technology?
• Were the timings, transitions and effects aligned to fit the 60 second time frame?

SOUND (optional)

If included,

• If sound was used to convey information, was accessibility considered, e.g. by providing captions for voiceovers?
• Did the music/sound contribute to the impact of the presentation?
• Was the sound/music in keeping with the mood/style of the presentation?

CONTENT (Score / 20)

• Does the entry provide an understanding of the research question being addressed, its significance, and potential impact?
• Is the research communicated in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience?
• Is the entry free from jargon, unexplained acronyms and incomprehensible technical terms?
• Does the entry leave you inspired and curious?

SCHOLARLY CITIZENSHIP (Score / 20)

• Does the entry include complete and correct references for any resources used to create the entry? Including: citation of any images, audio, video, software, tools and data.
• Does the entry include a valid ORCID on the title slide?
• Copyright – material included in the entry complies with the copyright rules of the competition, and the entry contains only material that falls into the following categories:
  • In the Public Domain;
  • Licensed under Creative Commons;
  • Content used with permission, or under an appropriate licence;
  • Original content created by the student themselves.
• Does the entry include acknowledgements for other people or groups who helped with the project or entry?

Please refer to the copyright guidelines for information on copyright, citations and permissions.

The University of Melbourne has also provided some online resources to assist you with copyright compliance, protecting your copyright, and seeking permissions in relation to the Visualise Your Thesis competition.

PowerPoint Resources

Microsoft Office support and training:

• Compress the media files in your presentation
• Are you having video or audio playback issues?
• PowerPoint training: tutorials for all versions of PowerPoint for Mac and Windows

Monash Education Academy (MEA):

MEA have an online Moodle unit - MEA: Enhance your PowerPoint Skills - that will assist you to develop a range of PowerPoint techniques including building charts & graphs, using animations and transitions, and manipulating images.

You can use this training unit purely as a resource, but if you would like it to contribute to your Professional Development hours for the MDP then complete the unit and the assessment task to receive 6 hours credit.

Click here to view the FAQs

Visualise Your Thesis is presented at Monash University by the

Monash Graduate Research Office (MGRO)

in collaboration with Monash University Library