Apply today to participate in a 10-minute Thesis Competition organized by the Sprott School of Business, the Telfer School of Management, and the Université de Québec en Outaouais’s Département des sciences administratives! On September 29 at Sprott, you’ll have the opportunity to square off against your business-school peers for $6,000 in cash prizes.

To apply, write a one-page submission with your supervisor. Three submissions will be chosen by each institution to advance to the 10-minute Thesis Competition on September 29.

If your proposal does not make the shortlist, you are invited to use it to contribute to a poster session to be held just prior to the thesis competition.

Why a 10-minute Thesis Competition?

By this point in your academic career, you’re probably well acquainted with the traditional academic presentation structure:  research problem, theoretical framework, methodology, results, and conclusions – in that order. That you would want to adhere to that structure for most presentations doesn’t surprise us. We get it. It’s a big part of your academic training.

But there’s another important skill for young researchers to have: communicating the impact and significance of their work right up front, and in plain language. So with the Telfer-Sprott-UQO 10-minute Thesis Competition, we’re asking presenters to abandon the traditional academic presentation structure. Instead, find an alternative way to present your project in a way that a lay person would understand. Explain what’s innovative about your project and the potential impact of the research. Tell a story. Look for creative ways to explain how and why your research matters. 

Rules

Eligible students/programs

  • PhD in Management - Sprott School
  • Doctorat en administration, D.B.A. - gestion de projet, UQO
  • Information Systems (IS) / Information Technology Management (ITM) students active in the Doctorat en sciences et technologies de l'information, UQO
  • PhD in Management - Telfer School of Management
  • PhD in Electronic Business Technologies, or EBT - Telfer School
  • M.Sc. in Management, M.Sc. in Health Systems, M.Sc. in EBT - Telfer School

Students who presented at the May 2016 Telfer-Sprott-UQO forum are also eligible, provided they apply with a new submission/proposal.

How to apply

Prepare a one-page submission with your supervisor. Include the content that would typically be included in an academic-type presentation, but in a different format – one that highlights what’s innovative about your project and its potential impact. We’re looking for creative ways of explaining how and why the research matters.

Thesis competition - highlights

  • Each institution will select 3 students for the presentation competition.
  • Each presentation should be no more than 10 minutes in length.
  • Presenters will be evaluated on their ability to convey the significance of their research with clarity and impact
  • $6,000 in cash prizes will be awarded. 1st prize – $3,000; 2nd prize – $2,000$; 3rd prize – $1,000

Key dates

July 31 - Student submit their notice of intent to participate

August 18 - Due date for one-page submissions, jointly prepared by the student and his/her supervisor

Early September – Telfer School, Sprott School and UQO have each chosen their three presenters

September 29 – 10-minute Thesis Competition and poster session at the Sprott School of Business