POSTED: 16 Jul, 2025

We are thrilled to share the incredible achievements of our PhD researchers in the recent Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition! The 3MT is a prestigious event where researchers present their work in just three minutes, capturing the essence of their thesis in an engaging and accessible way.

Akash Hettiarachchi’s Win at the QUT Faculty of Business and Law

A massive congratulations to our PhD researcher, Akash Hettiarachchi, for winning the QUT (Queensland University of Technology) Faculty of Business and Law’s 3MT® Final! Akash’s presentation on the impact of collaborative robots (cobots) in enhancing diversity—particularly gender and generational diversity—in the manufacturing workforce was truly inspiring. This victory paves the way for Akash to advance to the Grand Final at the Graduate Research Student Showcase on 11th September at QUT. The winner of this final will represent Australia at the Asia-Pacific competition, where over 900 universities from 85 countries compete.

Akash is part of our Centre’s Human-Robot Workforce team, led by A/Prof Penny Williams, Prof Greg Hearn, and Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr. Melinda Laundon. You can read more about Akash’s groundbreaking project here: Read More. We are incredibly proud of Akash and excited to support him in the next stage of his journey!

Recognising Other Remarkable Participants

We would also like to acknowledge the outstanding achievements of two of our researchers who participated in the 3MT competition:

• Danial Rizvi, a PhD researcher from UTS, represented our Centre in the UTS competition. His insightful presentation was a reflection of his dedication to advancing knowledge in his field.

• Jacob Dawson, an Associate PhD, won the QUT Faculty of Engineering (FoE) 3MT® round. Jacob’s ability to distill complex research into a three-minute presentation was truly impressive, and we are proud to have him in our team.

We’re excited that all three—Akash, Danial, and Jacob—will be advancing to the Grand Final on 11th September at QUT. Their hard work and passion for research are a testament to the talent and dedication within our Centre.

Once again, congratulations to Akash, Jacob, and Danial for their remarkable achievements. We look forward to seeing what lies ahead in their 3MT journey and are proud to have them representing our Centre.