Irvine, Calif. – The University of California Irvine hosted its ninth annual Grad Slam competition at the Edwards Lifesciences campus on March 9. Muhammad Twaha Ibrahim took home the win and a $6,000 check from first place sponsor Phonexa. Emani Dotch and Audrey Odwuor tied for second place with each competitor taking home $2,500, sponsored by Cie and the UCI Graduate Alumni Chapter.
“I’m really grateful to finally win Grad Slam, especially as I approach graduation,” Twaha Ibrahim said. “This journey took me four attempts, but I learned a lot about myself along the way, especially the importance of being persistent, which has helped me not only as a scholar, but also as a person.”
Part of UCI’s Graduate Division, Grad Slam is a systemwide competition that showcases and awards the best three-minute research presentations by graduate scholars. Twaha Ibrahim will represent UCI at the Grad Slam Systemwide Finals on May 5. The 2023 contest will be emceed by UC President Michael Drake at LinkedIn’s headquarters in San Francisco.
“I’m so impressed with Twaha along with all of our finalists,” said Gillian Hayes, Vice Provost for Graduate Education. “Twaha’s journey is the ultimate representation of perseverance and dedication. These 10 finalists did a wonderful job of representing our university. I also want to thank our sponsors for making this special event a reality.”
The in-person competition, that can be viewed in full here, not only highlights the excellence, importance, and relevance of UCI graduate scholars and their research, but it’s also designed to increase graduate students’ communication skills.
Twaha’s presentation was titled “Lights, Camera, Surgery!”, Emani’s was named “Stop Making That Noise!”, while Audrey’s talk was titled “Fighting Fire With Fire”. This was Audrey’s second consecutive UCI Grad Slam Finals appearance.
In the competition, graduate students master the ability to effectively present their work with poise and confidence. It’s also an opportunity to share accomplishments with the campus, friends of UCI, the local community, and the broader public.
Thank you again to our sponsors, Edwards Lifesciences, Phonexa, Cie and the UCI Grad Alumni Chapter, for making this event a huge success.
About the University of California, Irvine
Founded in 1965, UCI is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.
