Monday, April 28, 2025 — Aniesa Samira Bafadhal, a lecturer at the Tourism Study Program, Faculty of Administrative Sciences, Brawijaya University and a Ph.D. candidate at the Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Malaysia, won the Best Presenter award at the event Postgraduate Colloquium: Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition Series 2025 which was held on April 28, 2025 at the Dewan Hotel UiTM Puncak Alam, Malaysia. This achievement led him to advance to the next round of the competition.
In her presentation, Aniesa brought up a topic that explored the psychological, emotional, and behavioral dimensions of visitors in virtual reality (VR)-based theme parks, an exploratory study that highlights how immersive technology is reshaping the visitor experience in the digital entertainment landscape.
Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a prestigious international competition held annually as part of the academic development and scientific communication program for doctoral students. This competition is held in stages up to the Asia-Pacific level initiated by the University of Queensland.
3MT® challenges PhD students to summarize and present their research in a concise, clear, and engaging manner in a maximum of three minutes to a non-specialist audience. The main goal is to hone scientific communication skills so that complex research can be understood by a wider audience.
In addition, this competition is a strategic medium for discussion, receiving input from the jury, and expanding the reach and impact of research outside the academic realm.
Participant assessment is based on three main criteria that have equal weight, namely: Comprehension, Content, And Engagement and Communication. Emphasis is placed on participants’ ability to deliver messages effectively and build strong engagement and connections with the audience.
