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3MT crowns its 2025 PhD national competition winner

28 October 2025 | Story Andile Mbowana | Photo Supplied

PhD candidates at the 2025 National 3MT Competition, hosted at the University of the Free State.

The University of the Free State Centre for Graduate Support (CGS) hosted the 2025 National Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition on 24 October in the Albert Wessels Auditorium, bringing together some of South Africa’s brightest PhD minds under one roof. The annual event, which has become a highlight on the national academic calendar, challenges doctoral candidates from universities across the country to present their complex research in just three minutes, using language accessible to a non-specialist audience.

This year’s competition drew impressive presentations from top scholars representing various disciplines – from health sciences and agriculture to humanities – all showcasing the depth and diversity of South Africa’s research landscape.

Delivering the keynote address, Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation at the UFS, reflected on The Essence of Postgraduate Studies and Success in South Africa. He emphasised that postgraduate research plays a critical role in shaping innovation and addressing the country’s most pressing challenges. “As postgraduates, you represent a powerful tool of transformation, equity, and innovation, and every thesis is a story of resilience and a long journey of research,” he said. Prof Reddy also talked about how “competitions like the 3MT not only celebrate research excellence but also teach scholars how to communicate their ideas to inspire real-world impact,” praising the competition for opening opportunities for postgraduate scholars.

The University of the Free State was represented by two candidates, Rentia du Plessis from the Faculty of The Humanities, who presented her 3MT title, Exploring Instructional Communication Strategic for Holistic Student Development, and Naquita Fernandes from the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, with her 3MT title, Triggering Online Review Generation Behaviour.

Other universities, such as the Nelson Mandela University, Unisa, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the University of the Western Cape, the University of Johannesburg, and the University of Pretoria, were also present.

After a series of captivating presentations, Robinah Nakawunde from Stellenbosch University claimed the top prize. Representing the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, her presentation titled, Cured but Not Healed: Uncovering the Lung’s Struggles after TB, captured the attention of both the judges and the audience. Her research sheds light on how pulmonary tuberculosis continues to affect lung function even after successful treatment, highlighting the need for improved post-TB health-care interventions.

The first runner-up position went to Aaron Harvey from the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, whose research explores how avocado plants fight root rot disease using RNA interference mechanisms. His presentation, titled How Avocado Cells Fight Against the Root Rot Disease Caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi, Using RNAi Gatekeepers, impressed the judges with its clarity and scientific depth.

Morgan Lee from the University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Humanities took home the second runner-up prize. Her presentation, Locked In: The Hidden Barriers to Sustainable Agriculture, tackled the challenges facing South Africa’s commercial grain sector in transitioning towards more sustainable practices, offering insights that bridge environmental and social considerations.

The 2025 3MT National Competition once again demonstrated the power of concise, impactful communication in research. As the curtain closed, it was evident that South Africa’s future of research and innovation remains in capable hands, ones that can not only investigate deeply, but also explain passionately

News Archive

Regional Conference on Trafficking in Human Beings

2007-06-29

Trafficking in Human Beings:
National and International Perspectives

Date: 17th August 2007
Address: CR Swart Auditorium, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Every year thousands of children and adults become victims of trafficking and abuse in South Africa and throughout the southern African region. Victims are trafficked for a myriad of reasons: sexual exploitation, including prostitution and pornography; illegal labour, including child conscription; domestic servitude; illegal adoptions; body parts/organs; and forced marriages.

The Unit for Children’s Rights, Department of Criminal and Medical Law, University of the Free State (UFS), together with the Centre for Continuing Legal Education at UFS, will host a Regional Conference on Trafficking in Human Beings. The conference will bring together key role-players from the South African government as well as crucial international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the region.

Trafficking in human beings, especially women and children, is a serious violation of the human rights of the victims, as well as an extremely profitable source of income to organized crime, and needs the attention and intervention of both governmental and non-governmental institutions in South Africa.

Speakers will include representatives from the United National Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the South African Law Reform Commission, the Unit for Children’s Rights-UFS, and NGOs Molo Songololo and Terre Des Homes, that work with child trafficking victims in South Africa and around the world.

The media are invited to report on the conference, and interview speakers and presenters Attached find programme. For more info contact the following persons.

1. Beatri Kruger - 051 401 2108 / email: krugerh.rd@mail.ufs.ac.za
2. Susan Kreston - 051 401 9562 / email: krestons.rd@mail.ufs.ac.za
3. Elizabeth Snyman – 051 401 2268 / email: snymane.rd@mail.ufs.ac.za

Programme

Trafficking in human beings:
National & international perspectives

Presented by The Unit for Children’s Rights, Department Of Criminal & Medical Law , Faculty of Law, in Conjunction with The Centre for Continuing Legal Education, University of the Free State.

Funded through the Generosity of the United States Department of State

17 AUGUST, 2007 – CR SWART AUDITORIAM

8:00-8:30 Registration & Tea
8:30-8:45 Opening & Welcome
Prof. JJ Henning, Faculty of Law
8:45-9:40 Overview & Global Perspective
Prof. Susan Kreston - Unit for Children’s Rights, Faculty of Law-UFS

9:40-10:00 TEA

10:00-10:45 International Perspectives & the Role of Organized Crime in Trafficking
Wiesje Zikkenheiner, Associate Expert
United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime, Pretoria
10:45-11:45 Identifying and Assisting Victims of Trafficking
Marija Nikolovska, Project Officer
International Organization for Migration, Pretoria

11:45-12:30 LUNCH

12:30-1:15 Prosecuting Trafficking Without Trafficking Laws
Adv. Nolwandle Qaba, Sexual Offences & Community Affairs Unit
National Prosecuting Authority, Pretoria
1:15-2:15 Recommendations for New Legislation in South Africa
Lowesa Stuurman - South African Law Reform Commission, Pretoria

2:15-2:30 TEA

2:30-2:50 The Role of Terre Des Homes in Fighting Trafficking in Children
Judith Mthombeni– Terre Des Homes, Pretoria
2:50-3:50 Trafficking in Children in South Africa – A Front Line Perspective
Patrick Solomon - Molo Songololo, Cape Town
3:50-4:00 Closing Remarks
Adv. Beatri Kruger
Department of Criminal & Medical Law - UFS

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