2025 MIT Research SLAM to award $10k in prizes

Thanks to generous support from the Office of Graduate Education (OGE) and the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), the Research Slam planning team recently announced that $10,000.00 in prizes would be awarded to finalists at the 2025 MIT Research Slam!

The MIT Research Slam is a research presentation that builds on the classic “elevator pitch” or 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. Presenters explain their research to a curious, non-specialist audience in under three minutes (strictly enforced) using one slide with no animation, video, or props.

PhDs and postdocs compete in separate categories. Finalists will be selected from among video submissions (due Monday, March 10), and each finalist will present their research talk live at the 2025 MIT Research SLAM Showcase on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in the Wong Auditorium.

Winners in each category will be selected by an esteemed panel of judges to receive:

$2,000.00 for 1st place

$1,500.00 for 2nd place

$750.00 for 3rd place

$500.00 for 4th place

$250.00 for 5th place

The planning team is already seeing strong interest in Research Slam Information Sessions and preparatory workshops with more than 100 PhDs and postdocs from over 28 MIT departments, labs, and centers signed up to hone their communication skills and learn how to present a winning pitch.

The Research Slam is an unparalleled professional development experience that will improve science communication skills and offer opportunities to practice showcasing research to the MIT community and broader public. Every entrant will develop a research video for submission that can also be used on LinkedIn, at conferences, and in professional portfolios.

Please encourage MIT PhDs and postdocs to enter and join this friendly competition! The submission deadline is Monday, March 10 at 11:59 pm ET

We can’t wait to learn more about the exciting research going on at MIT and showcase some of our strongest communicators.

By Alexis Boyer
Alexis Boyer Alexis Boyer Assistant Director, Graduate Student Career Services