On October 18th, the final gala of the English-language competition "Science in 3 Minutes" took place at the Estonian Academy of Sciences, aimed at international doctoral students studying at Estonian universities. Five winners were announced, including Sharib Khan, a researcher from the Chair of Biosystems Engineering at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, with his presentation titled "If not plastics, then what?"
All five laureates will have the opportunity to participate in the global PSCT (Public Communication of Science and Technology) science communication conference, which will be held in Aberdeen, Scotland, from May 27 to 29, 2025.
The president of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Tarmo Soomere, emphasized in announcing the jury's decision that the finalists' presentations were technically almost perfect, with a powerful opening, clear introductions, and strong engagement with the audience. The text was excellently integrated with visuals, using clear and complete sentences while being economical with words. “Few utilized the entire time allotted for the lecture—this is good, as the more compact you are, the more persuasive you become.”
A total of 19 international doctoral students representing seven Estonian universities reached the competition finals. The finalists had to summarize their years of research in an interesting and understandable manner for all listeners, regardless of their background or prior knowledge, within three minutes. In addition to Sharib Khan, the other laureates were Francis Gracy Arockiaraj with the lecture "Seeing through Fog, Mist and Skin Tissues" from the University of Tartu, Baiba Brume with "TRMT112 – the Mysterious Link Between Different Diseases" also from the University of Tartu, Mehruba Shabaab Haque with "Redefining Beauty for Young Girls in the Age of Social Media" from the Estonian Business School, and Lucía Mariel Arana Peña with "Caring through Quality: Enhancing Mammography from Afar" from Tallinn University of Technology.
In addition to Sharib Khan, Omid Mousavi from the Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences also participated in the competition, discussing the enhancement of reproductive medicine possibilities through extracellular vesicles in his presentation "The Mother's First Hug."
The final was preceded by internal competitions at the universities and training organized by the Estonian Academy of Sciences to polish presentation and writing skills. Each finalist wrote a popular science article based on their research, which has either been published or will soon appear on the Research in Estonia website.