The unique competition sees academics battle to deliver their 80,000-word thesis in just three minutes, and Rachel has already wowed judges to win the University of Bristol round before impressing an international panel to qualify for the European Finals.

Rachel is a PhD student in the Department of English and her thesis titled ‘The Art of the Swoon’ explores the meaning and gendering of faints in early modern literature and beyond.

The finals are taking place on Thursday 6 June in Finland, with Rachel competing virtually from the University’s Senate House.

Rachel said: "3MT has been a fantastic experience! It helped me think about my research in new ways, engage with researchers across disciplines and develop my skills in public speaking. I’m really excited and honoured to represent the university in this competition!"

You can watch Rachel’s winning 3MT presentation from the University of Bristol competition here: University of Bristol 3MT Final 2023 | WINNER Rachel Hare (youtube.com)

It has been a busy year for Rachel, as she was also recently announced as one of the university’s first cohort of Early Career Enterprise Fellows for her work with Dr Lucy Selman and Dr Lesel Dawson on the Good Grief Festival.

The concept of a 3MT® competition was developed by The University of Queensland, Australia, in 2008. Official 3MT® competitions are now held in at least 200 Universities across more than 18 countries worldwide.