2024 Interdisciplinary Student Showcase: Scientific Pluralism

Students and trainees put in a lot of hard work in a single year that they are expected to present or display at conferences and formal venues - often competitively. This can be nerve-wracking especially for first time conference attendees, but at any stage of one's career. We heard from our students that there aren’t many lower pressure opportunities to practice preparing for those high stakes events to feel more confident when they attend the real thing. Why not give our students the very thing they asked for? Hence, the purpose of this forum is to give students and trainees a space to hone their skills without the pressure.

Below are three presentation platforms that students and trainees can sign up for. You must sign up separately for each one (if you want to do more than one). Presenters must also register for the conference for capacity and catering purposes.

Sign up closes at midnight on April 21, 2024. Presentation details will be sent directly to you via email upon sign up.

All presentation materials are due by 23:59 on April 26, 2024, no exceptions.

Please send your questions to the Conference Coordinator, at mnroe@ucalgary.ca.

This is a speed-round event. 5 minutes per presentation (timed), 20 slides max, 15 seconds per slide, be as succinct as possible.

What is an Ignite Talk?

Ignite is an innovative and fast-paced style used to deliver a concise presentation - in this case, any projects you completed this year. During an Ignite Talk, presenters discuss their research using 20 image-centric slides, which automatically advance every 15 seconds. The result is a fun and engaging five-minute presentation. Click here to learn more.

Challenge yourself and sign up to give an Ignite Talk! REGISTER HERE and select "Ignite Talks".

If you’ve never heard of Ignite Talks before, here are some resources to help you develop one:

https://scottberkun.com/2009/how-to-give-a-great-ignite-talk/

https://www.naccho.org/blog/articles/how-to-create-an-engaging-ignite-presentation

http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/ignite-presentations/

For those wanting to still give this presentation a shot but with a little less pressure, this speed round can also be modified to just a timed 5-minute presentation, this can be indicated during sign-up. 

Sign up closes at midnight on April 21, 2024. Presentation details will be sent directly to you via email upon sign up.

All presentation materials are due by 23:59 on April 26, 2024, no exceptions.

Please send your questions the Conference Coordinator, at mnroe@ucalgary.ca.

This is a speed-round event. Three minutes per presentation (timed) and be as succinct as possible.

The University of Calgary hosts an annual 3-Minute Thesis competition, so we are modelling this speed round event after it to keep things simple - except we removed the competitive aspect because, again, this is for practice!

Here’s how it works: Your thesis, three minutes, one slide.

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is an internationally recognized research communication competition. Participants have three minutes to deliver a compelling presentation on their thesis research for a general audience using a single, static slide.

The 3MT helps graduate students develop skills in translating their research and its impact for non-specialists. This skill is becoming essential for many purposes:

    Funding proposals
    Transitioning into employment
    Generating interest in, awareness of and support for academic research
    Communicating with confidence and clarity to diverse audiences

The Rules:

1. A single, static PowerPoint slide is permitted (no slide transitions, animations or 'movement' of any description, the slide is to be presented from the beginning of the oration). Please note that using a slide is optional but strongly encouraged. Images used in the slide must be your own, or you must have permission from the owner of the photo(s) and provide proper credit(s).
2. No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted.
3. No additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment, or laser pointers) are permitted.
4. No notes preferred. Preferably presentations are to be memorized, but if you find notes are helpful for you, feel free to use them.
5. Presentations are limited to 3 minutes maximum.
6. Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps or songs).
7. Presentations must be based on research directly related to the student’s graduate program thesis. Research performed for employment cannot be presented.

Practice makes perfect! Give a 3MT a try, REGISTER HERE and select "3-Min Thesis".

Here are some additional resources to help you prepare:

https://pipettegazette.uthscsa.edu/2020/08/21/10-tips-for-3-minute-thesis-competition/

https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/scientificcommunication/chapter/the-3-minute-thesis/

3MT: three tips to help you prepare a winning presentation [video]

3MT: the three most common mistakes [video]

Sign up closes at midnight on April 21, 2024. Presentation details will be sent directly to you via email upon sign up.

All presentation materials are due by 23:59 on April 26, 2024, no exceptions.

Please send your questions to the Conference Coordinator, at mnroe@ucalgary.ca.

No frills, no gimmicks, no surprises here, the poster session is exactly that! If you have a poster you worked on this academic year, please feel free to use that for your presentation instead of producing something new that you won’t use elsewhere. Alternatively, if you are preparing for an upcoming conference and have a poster you plan to present and would like the opportunity to practice your presentation among your peers, this is the spot for it! There will be guided poster walks for this part of the program so we can maximize as much equal exposure for all posters as we can.

Poster boards are 4' (W) x 6' (H) and are velcro adhesive only - which we will provide. Please DO NOT use thumb tacks on the poster boards.

Sign up and claim your poster board! REGISTER HERE and select "Poster Session".

Sign up closes at midnight on April 21, 2024. Presentation details will be sent directly to you via email upon sign up.

Posters do not need to be submitted in advance of the event. Please bring your poster to the Showcase for set up between 8:00-9:00 AM on April 29th.

Please send your questions to the Conference Coordinator, at mnroe@ucalgary.ca.

More hands make lighter work, and the bigger the event, the more hands needed. Help is always appreciated so if you are interested in supporting the operational side of any or all of this event, please feel free to sign up.

Lend us a hand by signing up HERE as a "Volunteer". Details to be shared closer to the event.