UoB PhD Researcher Reaches Final in National Competition

Yuxuan Wu, a UoB researcher has been shortlisted as a national finalist for the prestigious Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. After winning the University's 3MT competition in June, she was nominated to represent UoB at the national competition, where she successfully progressed to the finals.

Yuxuan shares her insight into the journey, valuable tips on communicating complex topics and how to stay motivated during long research projects.

Please could you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your research title.

Hi, I’m Yuxuan Wu and I’m a final year PhD student working on my research entitled: Artificial Intelligence (AI): The future of work in the working professions – case studies from medical imaging practises in the NHS.

Was there something that drew you to this research topic?

I have a general interest in new technologies and their relationship with the workplace. I have decided to focus on AI for my PhD research in early 2022, almost a year before the release of Chat GPT, as a result of my reading of article about how AI is now being used in different professional industries like the legal, financial sectors. What intrigued me the most was AI in healthcare. On one hand, there is the challenge that the supply of health care services is not catching up with the growing demand, due to an ageing population. On the other hand, AI is proposed to be a potential solution. So, we needed evidence to understand whether this potential could be realised and at what cost, and that’s where I started to focus on this area.

What do you personally hope to achieve with your research?

As a PhD student who wishes to start a career in academia, some publications based on my research are definitely desirable, as this is how your performance is quantified and assessed nowadays - you need publications. I also want to see real-life impact of my research beyond papers published in journals. For instance, I've shared my preliminary findings with organisations I've worked with, and as I'm a neutral, third-party with no conflict of interest, this has been appreciated and used in their internal evaluations of AI implementation. I'd like my research to continue to have a tangible outcome, something that is connected to practitioners in the field.

What’s your process behind communicating complex research to a wider audience?

It can be difficult identifying what’s actually interesting. Since I’ve been doing this project for so long, many things now seem obvious to me, and it can be easy to lose track of what counts as jargon and thus needs explanations. In this regard, it's been useful to speak to friends who knew little of my research, tell them what I’m doing, and understand what they found interesting in my project. It's helped me to refresh my mind in deciding what could be shared with the audience. I've also used ChatGPT to find out what terms need to be explained to non-specialist audiences.

What do you think the biggest difference between the first time and this time round?

If I'm honest, I didn't think I did a bad job, the first time was just in my first year through designing my research. I think the biggest difference is that now I was able to give a lot of solid findings in my presentation. If you think about it, everybody's trying to give a good presentation and will try to impress the audience and judges with the way they talk, but how you can weave your findings into the 3 minutes is very different – you want to give the audience something solid. My biggest improvement is knowing that my content is based on my research that is rooted on solid findings, which has altered the way I deliver my presentation.

How do you keep yourself motivated during such a long research project?

Looking back, I don't think I was always motivated, but I think it's normal to sometimes feel like that. It's important to acknowledge and accept what you're feeling instead of rejecting it as that's just not helpful. As PhD students, we're so concentrated on our research, it's our whole world. In this regard, it can be helpful to diversify your attention. For instance, teaching through a teaching assistant job or having some hobbies to invest your time and energy into, so whenever research is not going as expected, you still have other things to keep you going and to give you a break if you're tired.

What has been the most rewarding part of your PhD journey?

Seeing how much I've improved and grown as a person throughout the several years of study. There's a saying that the product of your PhD is not necessarily your actual thesis, but how you as a researcher and an individual, grows throughout the process. I agree with that and I'm aware that many aspects of me have improved throughout this process. My PhD journey is not necessarily always smooth, but the process of completing it and how I've overcome different challenges has made this so rewarding.

What advice would you give to other researchers who want to participate in the 3MT competition?

Watch videos of the previous winners at the University and National stage. Also watch the runners-up so that you can compare the difference in their delivery. They may have excellent research and presentational skills, but there are nuances to what makes a winner. Also, in my case, I participated twice, and I feel like that helped. Don't be afraid to have a go, even if you're not sure if you can do it, because you'll develop your abilities just from participating.