How a mofussil girl became the champion of the Three-Minute Thesis competition | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
July 10, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2025
How a mofussil girl became the champion of the Three-Minute Thesis competition

Pursuit

Sheikh Rafi Ahmed
25 January, 2023, 11:20 am
Last modified: 25 January, 2023, 11:31 am

Related News

  • 'People see government as the enemy': CA Yunus during interview with The Guardian
  • We should go to the sources of plastic for real solution: M Zakir Hossain Khan
  • We want to be among the top 10 banks in next 4 years: Mercantile Bank MD
  • Large depositors in troubled banks to be offered shares, bonds: Salehuddin
  • Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College crowned champion at NUB's business idea competition

How a mofussil girl became the champion of the Three-Minute Thesis competition

Atia first participated in the Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) not to win the competition, but simply to improve her communication skills. In 2022, she won the global round of the competition 

Sheikh Rafi Ahmed
25 January, 2023, 11:20 am
Last modified: 25 January, 2023, 11:31 am
Illustration: TBS
Illustration: TBS

When Atia Amin first arrived at the University of Dhaka, she was a typical mofussil girl from Mymensingh. She found it challenging to communicate in English; she was always self-conscious about her accent and whether she made a grammatical error. That insecurity persisted to a large extent when she went for her Master's in the US. 

"When I got the job as a Teaching Assistant at the University of South Dakota, I found it extremely difficult to communicate with my native students. To make matters worse, it was the American MidWest. No one was particularly familiar with my ethnicity," said Atia. "Given my mofussil background, I had never really spoken in English before, let alone taken classes. So, it was a steep learning curve for me." 

In fact, she first participated in the Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) not to win the competition, but simply to improve her communication skills.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Fast forward to 2022, Atia has won the global round of the 3MT, a competition that requires a simplified presentation of extremely complex ideas to the general populace, most of whom are native English speakers. In her journey to becoming the Champion of the 3MT, she not only overcame the language barrier but also beat graduate students from prominent Canadian, Mexican and US universities. She has also received a reward worth $ 2,000, or roughly Tk 2 lakh.

"The goal of the competition is to assess whether the researcher can explain complex research topics as easily as possible to ordinary people who have no idea about the issue, and that too in only three minutes," said Atia.

It did not happen by chance. Atia had to go through several stages of evaluation to be crowned as the champion of the competition. 

"I had to first qualify for the Eastern regional round (Canada was divided into three regions: Ontario, East and West) through a hit which eliminated all but 15 of the 250 participants. After that, I qualified for the National round where I had to compete against the top three competitors from the other three regions in Canada," she explained. "After winning the National round, I qualified for the global round where the national champions from the US and Mexico also presented their thesis."

Atia attended the Mymensingh Agricultural University's high school and college while growing up in Mymensingh. She completed her honours and master's degree in microbiology from the University of Dhaka and the University of South Dakota. She is currently pursuing her PhD in human genetics at McGill University in Canada. 

The award-winning thesis

Atia's award-winning thesis focused on how the Leishmania parasites (commonly known as Kala Jor in Bangladesh) develop drug resistance by sharing resistant genes through extracellular vesicles. The study also focused on finding potential remedies and ways of diagnosing the disease. Her thesis was later published in Cell Report, a Q1 journal and was selected among the top ten discoveries in Quebec from more than 22,000 publications.

"As a student of a North American university I could have picked any disease that is more endemic to the region. But I wanted to study Leishmania because there aren't many studies on this, and more importantly because the disease severely affects poor people in Bangladesh and other tropical regions," said Atia.

"We found a new way in which the parasites communicate with each other and share the drug resistance. More importantly, we found that these findings apply to certain cancer viruses as well," she added.

Overcoming the language barrier

Atia's road to prominence had not been easy. 

As she explained, "As a Bangla medium student, when I first tried to communicate in English, I first organised my thoughts in Bangla and then translated them into English. But doing so, in day-to-day conversation, especially with fast-speaking native students, was quite difficult." 

In fact, Atia identified this language barrier as the reason why many international students refrain from participating in international competitions like 3MT.

"During both my Master's and PhD, I noticed that most international students are afraid of participating in competitions like this, likely because of the language barrier and insecurities with their accent. We fear that other people will judge us for our accents and mistakes," she said.

However, Atia decided to tread against the current and decided to participate in the 3MT for the first time when she was pursuing her Master's at the University of South Dakota.

"I was struggling to communicate with my students properly. So I thought participating in 3MT will help me develop my communication skills," said Atia.

However, she did not find success immediately. Although she became runner-up in the regional rounds when she first participated, in the next one, she had been eliminated during the initial hits.

But her perseverance and determination to improve would eventually land her the much-coveted award.

"To be successful at 3MT, you have to be very careful about how you present your ideas, ranging from the slides you present, to how you speak, the content of your speech, how you present yourself and how efficient you are with your presentation. You have to hit the right balance between simplicity and complexity. And I learnt it all by participating in the 3MT," she added. 

Apart from the language barrier, Atia also shared her comparative experience as a female researcher in Bangladesh and North America.

"There is a huge difference in terms of opportunities as well as how you are treated as a female student. When I first started applying for my Master's, I faced a lot of obstacles. People, even those within my Department, asked me why I was doing so before I got married." 

Atia's family fully supported her in her pursuit of higher education in North America. However, most other girls in her acquaintance did not have similar good fortune. 

"I want to set an example for girls back at home that if they get the opportunity, they can also achieve great things in life." 

Features / Interviews / Top News

interview / Champion / thesis / Competition

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • In terms of stream of education, girls maintained their excellence as well. Photo: TBS
    Lowest SSC pass rate in 17 years as over 6 lakh students fail
  • BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir while speaking at a discussion at National Press Club on 10 July 2025. Photo: TBS
    'Backbone of economy will break': Fakhrul says govt should've worked seriously with more qualified people on US tariffs
  • S Alam Group Chairman Mohammed Saiful Alam. Photo: Collected
    Court freezes foreign investments of S Alam Group chairman, family in Singapore

MOST VIEWED

  • Graphics: TBS
    BB raises startup fund limit, drops upper age barrier
  • Workers pack undergarments at the packing section of a garment factory in Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Fatima Tuj Johora
    After US tariffs, jobs hang by a thread in Bangladesh's garments sector
  • Global Islami Bank rectifies 2023 figures, reports Tk2,259cr loss instead of Tk128cr profit
    Global Islami Bank rectifies 2023 figures, reports Tk2,259cr loss instead of Tk128cr profit
  • Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur. TBS Sketch
    Audit reports of most banks contain cooked up data: BB governor
  • File photo of containers at Chattogram port/TBS
    US buyers push Bangladeshi exporters to share extra tariff costs
  • CA orders law enforcers to complete all election preparations by December
    CA orders law enforcers to complete all election preparations by December

Related News

  • 'People see government as the enemy': CA Yunus during interview with The Guardian
  • We should go to the sources of plastic for real solution: M Zakir Hossain Khan
  • We want to be among the top 10 banks in next 4 years: Mercantile Bank MD
  • Large depositors in troubled banks to be offered shares, bonds: Salehuddin
  • Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College crowned champion at NUB's business idea competition

Features

Illustration: TBS

Behind closed doors: Why women in Bangladesh stay in abusive marriages

2h | Panorama
Purbachl’s 144-acre Sal forest is an essential part of the area’s biodiversity. Within it, 128 species of plants and 74 species of animals — many of them endangered- have been identified. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS

A forest saved: Inside the restoration of Purbachal's last Sal grove

2h | Panorama
Women are forced to fish in saline waters every day, risking their health to provide for their families. Photo: TBS

How Mongla’s women are bearing the brunt of rising salinity

1d | Panorama
Dr Mostafa Abid Khan. Sketch: TBS

Actual impact will depend on how US retailers respond: Mostafa Abid Khan

2d | Economy

More Videos from TBS

News of The Day, 10 JULY 2025

News of The Day, 10 JULY 2025

36m | TBS News of the day
SSC and equivalent results released: Pass rate 68.45%, GPA drops by 5

SSC and equivalent results released: Pass rate 68.45%, GPA drops by 5

1h | TBS Today
Islami bank aims to increase deposits to Tk 2 lakh crore by 2025

Islami bank aims to increase deposits to Tk 2 lakh crore by 2025

3h | TBS Programs
The two countries still face major challenges and mutual suspicions

The two countries still face major challenges and mutual suspicions

2h | Others
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net