The Graduate School of Arts and Science hosted its 10th installment of the Annual SynThesis Competition on April 29, 2026. The competition consists of students presenting their thesis research in a concise 3-minute presentation, with only one slide and no additional notes to aid them. All the participants presented to a live audience, and the winner took home a cash prize.
To mark the 10th year edition of SynThesis, a panel of GSAS alumni and past competition participants shared their experience and offered advice to current students. Among them - Ishita Petkar, ‘17 Human Rights Studies M.A. - reflected on how taking part in SynThesis prepared her to discuss her human rights work with those outside the field: “My thesis was super theoretical, but it had a practical application. To be able to explain it to people who didn’t speak the human rights language was really important to me, so SynThesis was really a critical part of my journey.”, Ishita shared with GSAS. Ishita, who is a human rights lawyer, currently serves as an Associate at Foley Hoag LLP where she works on issues of International Litigation & Arbitration and Global Business & Human Rights.
Gergana Halpern, ISHR’s Deputy Director joined the panel of GSAS judges who selected the winner of this year’s competition.
