Exploring alternative pain relief options for women in labour was the winning entry in Flinders University’s 2012 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, held last Friday (August 31).

PhD candidate Julie-Anne Fleet took out the annual title for her research into pain relief during childbirth, proposing a nasal spray or small skin jab as opposed to the pethidine-based deep muscular injection which is known to cause serious side-effects.

Selected from a pool of seven other finalists each representing the University’s four faculties, Ms Fleet has won a $2000 cash prize and an all-expenses paid trip to the Trans-Tasman 3MT™ final in Brisbane next month.

Philip Townsend, a research higher degree student from the Faculty of Education, Humanities and Law, was awarded second place and a $500 cash prize for his thesis exploring the use of mobile devices and digital technology to train teachers in remote areas.

The People’s Choice prize of $1000 was awarded to Jessica Viven from the Faculty of Education, Humanities and Law, who presented a compelling argument as to why Australia should officially adopt the principle of good faith in contract law.
Other finalists were:

•    Clare Holmes, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences: Autism spectrum disorder
•    Andrew Scholefield, Faculty of Science and Engineering: Is fish oil needed in tuna feed?
•    Andrew Lorbeer, Faculty of Health Sciences: Seaweed: The neglected treasure of the oceans
•    Anirudh Sharma, Faculty of Science and Engineering: Laminated plastic solar cells
•    Nga Ho, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences: Re-entry adjustment and re-expatriation intentions of accounting and finance professionals in Vietnam

Ms Fleet, based in the Faculty of Health Sciences, said she was surprised but nonetheless honoured to win this year’s title.

“I was really shocked to be chosen considering the quality of research presented by the other finalists, however it’s a great honour not only for me but for the School of Nursing and Midwifery,” Ms Fleet said.

Hosted by Flinders University’s Office of Graduate Research, the annual 3MT competition encourages PhD students to think about and explain their projects in simple terms to an intelligent but non-specialist audience – all in three minutes.

This year’s judging panel included Dr Paul Willis, director of RiAus (the Royal Institution of Australia) and a former presenter on the ABC’s Catalyst program; Professor Jeri Kroll, Dean of Graduate Research at Flinders University; and Anthony Francis, Managing Director of Flinders Partners.