Complex research can be made understandable to anyone willing to listen
No Salão Nobre da Reitoria da Universidade do Porto, uma investigadora de neurociência comprovou que a complexidade científica não precisa de ser um obstáculo à compreensão humana. Rafaela Seixas venceu a quinta edição do concurso 3MT® ao explicar, em três minutos e com um único diapositivo, o papel dos astrócitos no funcionamento cerebral — células tão essenciais quanto os neurónios, mas muito menos conhecidas do grande público. A sua vitória insere-se numa tendência crescente nas universidades: a de reconhecer que saber investigar e saber comunicar são, afinal, duas faces da mesma vocação.
- Vinte doutorandos da U.Porto enfrentaram o desafio de condensar anos de investigação em apenas três minutos, sem notas nem adereços — apenas palavras e um único diapositivo.
- A tensão entre a profundidade do conhecimento científico e a necessidade de o tornar acessível ao público geral esteve no centro de cada apresentação da noite.
- Rafaela Seixas destacou-se ao transformar uma tese sobre heterogeneidade astrocítica — território técnico e hermético — numa narrativa clara e cativante para um júri diversificado.
- Leonardo Rodrigues recebeu menção honrosa pela sua investigação sobre otimização de sistemas de energia renovável para habitações, surpreendido pela distinção face à qualidade dos restantes concorrentes.
- O concurso, agora na quinta edição, consolida-se como um marco anual que prepara os investigadores para comunicar o valor do seu trabalho muito além dos muros da academia.
Rafaela Seixas subiu ao palco do Salão Nobre da Reitoria da Universidade do Porto e fez algo que poucos neurocientistas praticam com regularidade: tornou a sua investigação compreensível para qualquer pessoa. Em três minutos, com um único diapositivo, explicou o papel dos astrócitos — células cerebrais tão vitais quanto os neurónios, mas muito menos conhecidas — e convenceu um júri composto por uma jornalista, um vice-reitor, um executivo de capital de risco e o presidente da Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. O prémio: dois mil euros e o título de vencedora da quinta edição do 3MT® da U.Porto.
O formato Three Minute Thesis é enganosamente simples. Vinte finalistas, selecionados por submissão de vídeo, têm exatamente três minutos para apresentar a sua investigação doutoral. Sem notas, sem adereços, sem apoios visuais além de um único diapositivo. Seixas, doutoranda em neurociência na Faculdade de Medicina e investigadora no i3S, dedica-se a desenvolver ferramentas para manipular astrócitos e compreender melhor a interação entre células gliais e neurónios. Fora do laboratório, dá workshops em escolas e partilha ciência nas redes sociais — para ela, comunicar não é um projeto paralelo, mas parte essencial do que significa ser investigadora.
Antes da final, os vinte selecionados participaram em sessões de formação no UPTEC Baixa e na Unidade de Inovação Educacional da universidade, aprendendo a estruturar uma apresentação de três minutos e a conceber um suporte visual que reforçasse, em vez de sobrecarregar, a mensagem. Seixas descreveu a experiência como extraordinariamente enriquecedora. Leonardo Rodrigues, doutorando em engenharia civil, recebeu menção honrosa de mil euros pela sua investigação sobre otimização de sistemas fotovoltaicos e de armazenamento de energia para edifícios residenciais — uma distinção que o surpreendeu, dada a qualidade das restantes apresentações.
O concurso espelha uma mudança mais ampla na forma como as universidades encaram a formação doutoral: investigar é fundamental, mas saber explicar por que razão a investigação importa é igualmente indispensável. Quem consegue destilar anos de trabalho em três minutos claros adquire uma competência que serve tanto a academia como a indústria, as políticas públicas ou o envolvimento cívico. A U.Porto, agora na quinta edição do seu 3MT®, afirma esse compromisso com visibilidade crescente.
Rafaela Seixas stood in the Noble Hall of the Rectory at the University of Porto and did something that neuroscientists rarely practice: she made her research sound simple. In three minutes, using a single slide, she explained her work on astrocytes—the lesser-known brain cells that are just as vital to how we think and feel as the neurons everyone has heard of. The judges, a panel that included a journalist, a university vice-rector, a venture capital executive, and the head of Portugal's national science foundation, chose her presentation as the best of the evening. She won two thousand euros and the title of champion in the fifth edition of U.Porto 3MT®, a competition that has become the university's annual test of whether its doctoral students can actually talk about what they do.
The 3MT® format—the acronym stands for Three Minute Thesis—is deceptively simple. Twenty finalists, selected from a larger pool through a video submission process, each get exactly three minutes to stand before an audience and explain their doctoral research. One slide. No props. No notes. Just the researcher and the words. The competition arrived at the University of Porto in 2022 and has grown into a fixture that draws attention to the work happening in the university's fifteen faculties. This year's final took place in May, and the caliber of work on display reflected the breadth of doctoral research underway: renewable energy systems, brain cell heterogeneity, and everything in between.
Seixas, a doctoral student in the neuroscience program at the Faculty of Medicine, has spent years investigating the secrets of astrocytes in the university's i3S research institute. Her thesis, titled "Investigating Astrocytic Heterogeneity at the Level of Individual Perisynaptic Processes," focuses on developing tools to manipulate astrocytes in specific ways so that researchers can better understand how glial cells and neurons interact. It is the kind of work that matters deeply to neuroscience but can sound impenetrable to anyone outside the field. Seixas has made it her mission to change that. When she is not in the lab, she runs workshops in schools and has begun posting about neuroscience on social media. She sees science communication not as a side project but as central to what it means to be a researcher. "Communication of science is something I love doing inside and outside the laboratory," she said after her win. "The 3MT seemed like the perfect opportunity to test my ability to make science accessible to everyone, and that captivates me greatly."
The competition itself served as a kind of bootcamp in how to talk about research. Before the final, the twenty selected students attended training sessions at UPTEC Baixa and the university's Educational Innovation Unit, where they learned not just how to structure a three-minute talk but how to design a single visual aid that would reinforce rather than clutter their message. For Seixas, the experience was affirming. "The participation in 3MT was spectacular," she reflected. "From the support materials I had access to in order to improve my presentation, to all the help from the organization. It was an extremely positive and enriching experience." Her victory, she said, was the culmination of effort and training, but also proof that complex research, no matter how intricate, can be made understandable to anyone willing to listen.
Leonardo Rodrigues, a doctoral student in civil engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, received an honorable mention worth one thousand euros for his presentation on the optimization of renewable energy systems for households. His research focuses on simulation and optimization of photovoltaic and energy storage technologies for residential buildings—work that sits at the intersection of engineering and sustainability. Like Seixas, Rodrigues found the competition challenging and rewarding. He described the experience as a high-quality bootcamp that taught him not only how to speak clearly but how to design a slide that actually served his message. The honorable mention came as a surprise. "I wasn't expecting it at all, given the very high quality of the other presentations," he said. For him, the recognition validated both the work he has been doing in his doctoral program and the communication skills he has been developing along the way. He left the competition with renewed confidence to seek out more opportunities to explain not just what he is doing, but why it matters to society.
The 3MT® competition reflects a broader shift in how universities think about doctoral training. Research matters, but so does the ability to explain why it matters. A doctoral student who can distill years of work into three clear minutes has learned something that will serve them whether they stay in academia or move into industry, policy, or public engagement. The University of Porto's competition, now in its fifth year, has become a visible marker of that commitment. Twenty students each year get the chance to practice the hardest part of being a researcher: making someone care about what you have found.
Notable Quotes
Communication of science is something I love doing inside and outside the laboratory. The 3MT seemed like the perfect opportunity to test my ability to make science accessible to everyone.— Rafaela Seixas, competition winner
The participation in 3MT was spectacular. It was an extremely positive and enriching experience.— Rafaela Seixas
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
What made Rafaela's presentation stand out to the judges? Was it the science itself, or the way she told the story?
Both, I think. The judges weren't neuroscientists—they were a journalist, a venture capitalist, a university administrator, a science foundation director. They were listening as intelligent people who don't work in her field. She made them understand not just what astrocytes are, but why anyone should care that they work differently from each other.
Three minutes is brutal. How do you even choose what to leave out?
You have to know your work so deeply that you can see the skeleton of it. Rafaela's thesis is about developing tools to manipulate specific astrocytes. That's the spine. Everything else—the technical details, the literature review, the methodology—that all hangs on that spine. In three minutes, you're just showing the skeleton.
Did the training sessions actually help, or was that just something nice to say?
From what both winners said, it genuinely changed how they thought about the slide itself. Leonardo mentioned learning that the visual aid should reinforce, not clutter. That's not obvious to most researchers. We're trained to put everything on the slide. Learning to subtract is harder than learning to add.
Why does a university care about this? Isn't the real work what happens in the lab?
The real work does happen in the lab. But if doctoral students can't explain their work to people outside their field, the work stays invisible. Universities are increasingly accountable to society—they need to show that the research they do matters beyond academia. This competition is one way to make that visible.
What happens to Rafaela now? Does she keep doing science communication, or does she go back to just being a researcher?
She's already doing both. She said she plans to continue her doctoral thesis while cultivating a strong interest in teaching and science communication. The two thousand euros probably helps, but the real prize is permission—from herself and from the institution—to see communication as part of the work, not separate from it.