Tell Your Thesis Story

Celebrating graduate researchers and their research stories

Tell Your Thesis Story is a Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS) initiative supporting graduate researchers to communicate their research in engaging and accessible ways to audiences beyond their own discipline.

In 2026, MDHS graduate researchers were invited to submit a short summary of their thesis research and participate in a practical writing workshop, before developing a 1000-word article for the Tell Your Thesis Story Writing Competition.

Thesis stories will be assessed by a judging panel on narrative cohesion, clarity and accessibility, engagement, and writing quality.

2026 competition winners

Winners will be announced at the GR Conference in November 2026.

How to participate

To take part in the Tell Your Thesis Story competition and writing workshop, MDHS GRs completed an Expression of Interest form, including a 150-word summary of their research written for a lay audience

Key stages

  • Expression of Interest and 150-word summary submission. Submit a 150-word summary of your research.
  • Writing workshop facilitated by The University of Melbourne’s Pursuit. Participants attended a writing workshop to learn strategies for writing about research for lay audiences.
  • Thesis story development. Participants were invited to develop a full thesis story (~1000 words) based on their research.
  • Competition judging and prizes. Full thesis stories will be reviewed by a judging panel, with the top 10 selected for online publication and prizes. The top three, as well as a Dean’s Choice award, will be announced at the GR Conference in November 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

General

  • Who can participate in Tell Your Thesis Story? Graduate research students (PhD and MPhil) in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne, who have passed confirmation and not yet submitted their thesis for examination.
  • What kind of writing is expected? Both the 150-word summary and the full, final thesis story should be written in an engaging and accessible style for a lay audience, rather than in academic style.

Thesis story summaries and Expressions of Interest

  • How long will the thesis story summary be? Summaries were limited to 150 words (±10%).
  • When are the Expression of Interest and summary due? Expressions of Interest including a 150-word thesis story summary were due by 23 June 2026.

Writing workshop

  • When and where will the workshop take place? The workshop was held online in July 2026.
  • Will the writing workshop be recorded? Yes, the writing workshop recording will be made available ONLY to GRs who submit an EOI and thesis story summary.

Full thesis stories

  • How long will the full thesis stories be? Full thesis stories should be 1000 words (±10%). The reference list (if included) is not counted in the word limit; however, in-text citations are included.
  • Can the full thesis story contain references? You may include citations and references if appropriate. Full thesis stories may include up to 30 references, which should be formatted in APA 7 style. The reference list is not included in the word count.
  • When are full thesis story submissions due? Mid-September 2026.

Judging and prizes

  • How were full thesis story submissions judged? A panel of judges from across MDHS, as well as a representative from the University of Melbourne’s Pursuit magazine, will assess submissions based on how clearly, accessibly, and engagingly they communicate a research story to a lay audience. Judges will consider:
    • Narrative cohesion
    • Accessibility and Clarity
    • Engagement
    • Writing and Language
  • What are the prizes? The top 10 thesis stories, together with a Dean’s Choice award, will be awarded prizes and published online.

Further information

This project is funded by a MDHS Graduate Research Development Grant and a MDHS Seed Education Innovation Grant