The HIRAKU 3MT Competition 2021 was successfully held on Wednesday, November 3rd.

Following on from last year, this year’s Competition was also made eligible to all doctorate students enrolled in Japanese universities, and subsequently, a total of 130 applications from 28 national, public and private universities were received. Following on from the rigorous Video Presentation Screening, 22 Finalists (11 for each division) were selected to take part in the Final Stage.

With a substantial gathering of 204 people for the English Division and 142 people for the Japanese Division watching the Competition, the Finalists managed to showcase their research using only a single slide within a limited time-span of three minutes, in a language appropriate to the non-specialist audience, which in turn seemed to galvanize the intellectual curiosity of the audience.

At the conclusion of the 3MT Presentations, the respective panel talks with the Finalists were presented in both of the divisions. The theme of the panel talks was “Links: Humanity, Society, and our Future”, and they were moderated by the experienced science communicators of David Hajime KORNHAUSER (Director, Global Communications, Kyoto University) for the English Division and HONDA Takayuki (Freelance Science Communicator) for the Japanese Division. Under the supporting guidance of the moderators, the Finalists enthusiastically discussed and exchanged opinions about how their research could contribute to society in the future.

Please feel free to watch the YouTube videos of the live-streamed Competition via the URL links below.
　■ English Division: https://youtu.be/xCPG0Pk5seQ
　■ Japanese Division: https://youtu.be/LfjnzpIh__w

Congratulations to the following Award Recipients, as determined by the respective judging panels and audience polls.

>> List of HIRAKU 3MT Competition 2021 Finalists (PDF)

○ Winner / SHIMAMURA Takenori (The University of Tokyo)
“Atomic-scale “chest X-rays” with ultrasmall mirrors”

○ Runner-Up / Daniel LE (Kanazawa University)
“In Search of Home: The return of the Vietnamese Westerners”

○ People’s Choice / LITA RAKHMA YUSTINASARI (Yamaguchi University)
“A Mysterious Messenger in Placenta Break Down the Problems in Preeclampsia: Possible?”

≪Sponsor Awards≫　*The Sponsor Award Recipients were chosen from the Video Screening Stage

○ Acaric Award / Srishti TRIPATHI (Kyoto University)
○ Otsuka Award / Eunbin JEE (Nippon Sport Science University)
○ Springer Nature Award / LITA RAKHMA YUSTINASARI (Yamaguchi University)

>> List of HIRAKU 3MT Competition 2021 Finalists (PDF)

○ Winner / ASAO Yuria (Hiroshima University)
「お口の健康から子どもたちの未来を育む」

 ○ Runner-Up / WATANABE Tomoki (Tokushima University)
「超解像観察に向けた金属ナノ構造の３次元配置技術」

○ People’s Choice / Mutia KUSUMAWATI (Hiroshima University)
「ほめ言葉を通した異文化理解」

≪Sponsor Awards≫　*The Sponsor Award Recipients were chosen from the Video Screening Stage

○ Acaric Award / YANAGISAWA Naoya (Tokyo Metropolitan University)
○ Otsuka Award / TAKEUCHI Masaki (The University of Tokyo)
○ KONICA MINOLTA Award / ITO Kenji (Yamaguchi University)
○ Nature Digest Award / ASAO Yuria (Hiroshima University)
○ Chugai Technos Award / YANO Ryoko (Hiroshima University)
○ Tempearl Award / KATAYAMA Haruna (Hiroshima University)
○ TODA KOGYO Award / HAMADA Takuya (Osaka Prefecture University)
○ JSW Award / WATANABE Tomoki (Tokushima University)
○ Micron Award / KATAYAMA Haruna (Hiroshima University)
○ Mazda Award / SAKAI Hiroto (Hiroshima University)

Host Organization:
“Home for Innovative Researchers and Academic Knowledge Users (HIRAKU)” funded by MEXT’s “Building of Consortia for the Development of Human Resources and Science and Technology” program

Co-Host Organization:
“Hiroshima University Graduate School Research Fellowship” funded by MEXT’s “Project for Establishing University Fellowships for the Creation of Innovation in Science and Technology”

Special Sponsors:
Acaric Co., Ltd.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
Springer Nature
Chugai Technos Corporation
Tempearl Industrial Co., Ltd.
Tosoh Corporation
TODA KOGYO CORP.
The Japan Steel Works, Ltd.
Micron Memory Japan, K.K.
Mazda Motor Corporation

Sponsors:
Kyowa Hakko Bio Co., Ltd. Technical Research Laboratories / Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. / Manac Incorporated

Cooperators:
Acaric Co., Ltd. / Springer Nature / Japan Science and Technology Agency

The Competition was held with the comprehensive support of Acaric Co., Ltd., Springer Nature and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), especially in regard to promotional activities. This support is a result of them being in agreement with the purpose of the Competition, which is to develop the doctorates’ presentation and research communication skills, while leading to broader society (as the audience) further enhancing their positive understanding of doctorate resources and researches.

Springer Nature’s Press Release
https://go.nature.com/3r5Cdmo

The Competition was held as a collaborative event with Science Agora 2021 (hosted by JST).
Website of Science Agora: https://www.jst.go.jp/sis/scienceagora/en/

https://hiraku.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/event_fy2021/competition_2021/report/