As you know, I’m fortunate enough to be sister to the amazing wildlife film-maker Lisa Marley. I’ve written about her documentary on Scottish raptor poisonings here previously (and incidentally, this work is currently touring the film festivals – scroll to the end for details!). But in June, we actually worked together on a short film project as part of the Aquatic Noise 2016 conference I attended in Dublin.
The conference held a public evening involving short lectures around the theme of underwater noise, and also invited submission of videos on this topic. Lisa and I worked together to create a short film describing the effects of human noise on coastal dolphins, similar to the idea of my 3MT speech – but with much cooler visuals than just me standing on a stage!
I wonder if anyone recognises the locations involved in this production? Suggestions on a postcard please…!
So now I have a professional video to highlight my research AND had the awesome experience of working on a creative project with my sister. And all without a single sibling squabble to be seen!
“Red Sky on the Black Isle” lastest screenings:
Hebrides International Film Festival (on Lewis, Harris, Uist and Barra; UK): 14-17 September 2016
A few weeks ago, I was chatting with Sonja Heinrich, the coordinator of the Masters program I undertook at the University of St Andrews. She was really interested to hear of my science communication experiences, and invited me to write a guest blog post for the Masters website about winning the 3-Minute-Thesis (3MT) competition.
Field Trip to the Isle of Mull (April 2009)
The guest post itself is up on the St Andrews Postgraduate blog. But I thought this would also be a good opportunity to talk about my experience on the Masters.
I studied Marine Mammal Science at the University of St Andrews from 2008-09. It was one of the most amazing years of my life. I attended the oldest university (and one of the most prestigious) in Scotland, made a fabulous bunch of new friends, and met my amazing partner Phil. We watched fascinating lectures and participated in interesting labs, both taught by leaders in this field. We sailed the West Coast of Scotland, looking for whales and dolphins. We scrambled down cliffs, conducting population surveys of seals (which led to a near-death experience, but that’s a whole other story). We assisted in the necropsy of a stranded porpoise (seven years later, I can still vividly remember the smell…).
My thesis project led to it’s own collection of exciting tales (locked in a forest and rescued by gypsies; hiding in the sand dunes from a gun-man; trapped in a hut by highland cattle – to name but a few!). But it also taught me how to organise fieldwork, developed my analysis and scientific writing skills, and gave me a real taste of independent research. There’s no question that I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for this course.
Saying goodbye to my Masters field site
Masters Marine Mammal Science – Class of 2008-09
When I began, the Masters was only in it’s second year of existence. Applications have now closed for the 10th year of the Masters in Marine Mammal Science! Graduates have gone on to study PhDs, advance to post-doctorate research, or take up leading positions in government organisations. They have dispersed all over the world, creating an amazing network of alumni.
Even after moving to Australia, I have still worked on projects with Masters alumni (it’s funny who you meet in the middle of the sea…). One of them lives 5mins down the road! Marine mammal science is a small world, but a pretty great one to be a part of.
3MT Trans-Tasman 2014 Sarah Marley and Rosanna Stevens
“… Sarah Marley from Curtin University“
When I heard those words, my heart stopped. I did the “shocked-actress-wins-award” face. I hugged my friends sitting on either side. I repeatedly gasped “oh my goodness“. I may have even made a rather embarrassing Oscar-worthy acceptance speech. Now over a week later and I am still riding the high 🙂
View the talk below:
Now let’s back up a bit.
The 3-Minute-Thesis (3MT) competition was developed by the University of Queensland back in 2008. It was intended to be an exercise in communication for graduate students, giving them just three minutes to explain their PhD to a generalist audience. Since then, the competition has expanded to universities around the world.
I’ve known about this competition for a couple of years now, after seeing various friends compete to present their own PhD at other universities. I couldn’t wait to become a student myself and give it a go! So when Curtin University emailed around to announce that registration was open for the 2014 competition I immediately sat down, wrote my talk in 20mins, and started practicing!
The Curtin heats were a couple of months ago, where I surprised myself by not only making it through to the Curtin Final top ten but also by winning my heat. “A great start,” I thought. “Now back to fieldwork!” as I prepared for the second trip up to the Kimberleys. A few weeks later, I made the special one-night-only trip back from Broome to Perth for the Curtin Final, and won both the Final and the People’s Choice award! Certainly justified the trip down!
All the competitors from the 3MT Trans-Tasman 2014 competition at UWA
But the Trans-Tasman Competition was the hardest yet. I was competing with winners, so you can imagine that the standard of talks was extremely high! Most amazing of all was the team spirit – everyone was so nice to each other! After every presentation, the speaker would return to the “green room” amid cheers and high fives from their opposition 🙂 It was a great vibe!
Then it was time to give my talk…
Not a stutter in sight! Quite different to 4 yrs ago…
As I stepped on stage, I felt such a buzz. I love the work that I do, and the opportunity to talk about it always gets me excited! Quite a far cry from four years ago, when I could barely give a short talk to a group of friends without blushing and stuttering my way through the presentation. So I felt a certain glow of accomplishment at having enjoyed something that just a few years would have terrified me!
From a happy glow to radiating surprise, I was ecstatic to be chosen as winner of the 3MT – but the whole experience was a delight! From the thrill of presenting to the team spirit backstage to the happiness of making new friends, the whole 3MT journey has been a blast. If you ever have the opportunity to take part I would thoroughly encourage you to do so! Even if you’re not confident of your presenting skills, just ask yourself – when will you get a better opportunity to try?
But work on your potential acceptance speech beforehand, and practice your photo face:
Me laughing manically as I receive my giant novelty cheque from sponsor James Mercer. Sorry James…
Now all that is left is for me to thank my partner, my friends, my family, my university, the organisers, the sponsors, the judges, the competitors, the audience, the backstage staff, my high school science teacher, my pets…
Dr Sarah Marley 