How to compete

Competition rules

The rules are deliberately simple and the disqualifications strictly enforced. Every finalist works inside the same three constraints: one static slide, no props, seven minutes. The application round is a 90-second video of you delivering a compressed version of that talk. Live heats, semifinals, and the November finale use the seven-minute clock. The judging panel’s decision is final.

• One static slide. A single PowerPoint, Keynote, or PDF slide. No transitions, animations, builds, morphs, embedded video, GIFs, or audio.
• No additional media. No sound clips, no second screen, no clicker that triggers media, no live stream of a lab.
• No props. No costumes, instruments, laboratory equipment, printed handouts to the jury, or physical objects of any kind. A glass of water on the lectern is not a prop. A prototype in your hand is.
• Seven minutes maximum. A presentation that exceeds 7:00 is disqualified. There is a visible timer on stage. 7:01 is not “close enough.”
• Spoken word only. No raps, songs, or poems performed as a substitute for the talk. A short quoted line is fine; a performed piece is not.
• Begins on stage. The clock starts on the contestant’s first word or first movement, not on the producer’s nod.
• You are the speaker. The person in the application video is the person on stage. A two-person team may split the seven minutes if both appeared in the video; three or more on stage is not allowed.

Eligibility — ages and roles

7MT is open worldwide. There is no upper age limit. The practical floor is 18 years old on the date of the heat you enter, because heats are public events and travel is involved. Undergraduates younger than 18 may apply with a faculty or legal-guardian endorsement and are considered case by case; write to apply@7mt.org before you record.

You are eligible if you are a primary contributor and you fit one of these roles:

• An active graduate or doctoral researcher at any accredited institution.
• A founder or technical co-founder of a company less than seven years old on 30 June 2026.
• An independent engineer, scientist, or builder with a real project — open source, hardware, or applied research that exists outside a slide.
• An undergraduate presenting original research or a working prototype, with a faculty or industry endorsement (name and email in the application).

You are not eligible if:

• You have previously won a 7MT national or grand final as a speaker (you may judge).
• You are presenting work to which you are not a primary contributor, even with permission.
• The submission is only a literature review or theoretical commentary with no original work.
• You are a current 7MT staff member or a judge for the city you would enter.

Teams of two are allowed under the conditions above. Dual-city applications are rejected. Entry is free. Full packing list: Apply.

Slide technical specification

The file you attach to the application is the file we put on the projector. Treat it as production, not a draft.

• Count: one slide. A second slide, a hidden slide, or a “click to reveal” is a disqualification if it appears on stage.
• Formats: .pptx, .key, or .pdf. If fonts are exotic, send PDF with fonts outlined.
• Aspect: 16:9 widescreen. 1920×1080 pixels recommended. 4:3 will be letterboxed; do not rely on the edges.
• Motion: none. No animation pane, no GIF, no embedded video or audio, no links that leave the slide.
• Size: 15 MB maximum.
• Content: one strong image; a short title or no title; almost no body text. The slide anchors. It does not narrate.
• Colour: assume a bright hall. Thin grey type on white will vanish. Test it on a laptop at arm’s length.
• Lock: the operator holds the slide for the full seven minutes. You do not get a remote.

If we cannot open the file on a stock Windows and macOS machine, we will ask for a PDF resubmission. If you need a factual correction after shortlisting, ask the heat producer before doors; we do not rebuild slides at the lectern.

Disqualification list

These are DQs, not style notes. A DQ ends the talk in that round. Reading from notes is allowed but scored down; it is not on this list.

• Exceeding 7:00 on the visible timer.
• A second slide, a build, a transition, or any motion on the slide.
• Any prop, costume, instrument, demo, or extra screen.
• Additional audio or video, including a phone playing a clip.
• A stand-in speaker who was not the person in the application video.
• Presenting others’ work as yours.
• Undisclosed material AI authorship (see FAQ).
• A video application with music, heavy montage, or a brand film in place of a talk.
• Applying to two cities, or applying after a previous grand-final win as speaker.
• Harassment of speakers, judges, audience, or staff.
• Selling, forging, or altering a 7MT certificate.
• A paid product placement read as if it were the idea.

How to pitch

The best 7MT talks share four things: a problem the audience can feel, an insight that surprises, a piece of evidence that lands, and a single image they take home. Structure is taught at length on Resources: hook, problem, mechanism, evidence, ask. A working seven-minute map:

1. The hook (0:00–0:45). A concrete moment, not “imagine if.”
2. The stake (0:45–2:00). Who is hurt, how badly, why it is still unfixed.
3. The insight (2:00–4:30). One analogy, not five. The mechanism.
4. The evidence (4:30–5:45). One result, one number, described — not demoed.
5. The consequence (5:45–7:00). If this works, what changes? End on a sentence the room can quote. That sentence is the ask: what you want the world, an investor, or a lab to do next.

Common non-DQ failures: using the slide as a script; finishing at 3:40 because you pasted a 3MT talk into a 7MT slot; going 7:01. The first two lose on the rubric. The third loses the round.