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I have done two projects in the area of molecular biology. I have a Master's degree. So, I find that it requires more than 20 minutes to talk about them. My first-language is not English. I think this is too long, right? I would be tired, and the interviewer may also be tired. We may need additional time to discuss the research projects I did. So, should it be short? How many minutes are appropriate?

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They ask about your research experience to learn more about your suitability for the position. They are not necessarily interested in the specific research results. If they are, they will look for publications after the interview or simply ask for more details.

Prepare a sales pitch with three main points:

  • background/topic of the projects and also why you participated in them
  • main results and conclusions
  • what did you learn from doing them (project management skills, exciting new technique, ...)

You should be able to explain this in about 5 minutes. Be prepared to answer questions if they ask for more details.

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A skype interview is interactive: people will interrupt you and ask questions. So if the overall interview is supposed to last 60 minutes, then 20 minutes may seem appropriate -- with questions it will fill the time. If the interview is scheduled to be 30 minutes, then 20 may seem optimistic -- but it could also be ok.

I think, though, that you're focusing too much about the length of the presentation. You ought to be concerned with the content and the level at which you present. Remember that you're going to talk to people who have a decade or more of experience in the field -- they won't need a detailed introduction to the basics of the field.

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  • I think this answer is helpful, but as an addendum to the second paragraph, whether the people interviewing you are experienced in the field or not, they quite possibly won't need a comprehensive discussion of the field, or indeed of the research projects, in order to judge whether you're suitable for a PhD programme. As Roland has pointed out in his answer, a significant chunk of your answer should be focused on what you did and what you learnt.
    – Ian_Fin
    Commented Oct 19, 2016 at 8:46
  • Correct. They're likely not overly interested in what you actually did. They want to judge your ability to do research.
    – Wolfgang Bangerth
    Commented Oct 19, 2016 at 22:19

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