Graduate Student Research Conference 2010 | Graduate Studies

Call for proposals
Graduate Student Research Conference (GSRC): Sharing Discovery
April 26-30, 2010

The deadline for submissions of proposal abstracts is Monday, February 8, 2010.

The submission deadline has passed. We are currently vetting all of the proposals we received. You will be notified in the second week of March regarding the status of your proposal submission. Thank you.

The Associate Provost of Graduate Studies, Dr. Sue Horton, in association with the Graduate Studies Office (GSO) and the Graduate Students Association (GSA) invites you to participate in the 10th annual Graduate Student Research Conference: Sharing Discovery. This is a conference to encourage and foster interdisciplinary research on campus and to create awareness of the research conducted by graduate students at the University of Waterloo.

University of Waterloo graduate students are invited to participate in the conference by making an oral or a poster presentation.

A limited number of presentations will be selected to be formally judged and eligible for prizes (oral presentation prize: Lenovo ThinkPad; poster presentation prize: netbook).

Call for proposals

Oral Presentation: A total time of 20 minutes is allotted for each oral presentation; 15 minutes for the presentation content and 5 minutes for the question/answer period.

Poster Presentation: A graphically oriented summary of your research project; posters are showcased during April 26-29 in the Davis Centre.

Mandatory Oral Presentations: Oral presentations required to fulfill seminar degree requirements with various on-campus departments.

Abstract Submission

If you wish to participate in the 10th annual Graduate Student Research Conference: Sharing Discovery, you will need to submit your abstract details before Monday, February 8, 2010.

Your abstract should include the following details:

Purpose of research
Procedures and/or methods used
Major finding and results
Research conclusions

Please note that your abstract will be published on the conference website. Copies of the online conference program will be forwarded to the National Library of Canada for deposit in the Library archives.

If you wish your presentation judged and eligible for awards, please make sure all of the above criteria are met in your abstract submission.

Judging

Judged presentations will be judged by faculty members and graduate students.
Judging will be based on:

setup and visual appeal
clarity of your introduction
organizational flow
conclusion statements
audience analysis and
convincing proof of research potential and world relevance

Submission of Proposals

Please visit the online submission form to submit your abstract title and abstract description.

The deadline for submissions of proposal abstracts is Monday, February 8, 2010.

All proposals will be subject to a peer blind review process. The final program will be available on this website in March.

Presentation guidelines

Oral presentation
An oral presentation is an opportunity for you, as a graduate student, to hone your presentation skills. It allows you to share your research outcomes with your peers and the university community.

Your oral presentation should include:

Title: should be appropriate for a general academic audience; make it interesting and informative.
Presentation: should include more specific details as described in your abstract: purpose of research, procedures and/or methods used, major finding and results, research conclusions.
Audience: general university population; with majority audience members who will be other graduate students and faculty members. Few of the attendees may be familiar with the subject matter you are presenting. Ensure that your presentation is understandable.

Poster Presentation
A poster presentation is a graphically oriented summary of your research project. It consists of a collection of frames, pinned directly to a 1.2 m x 1.0 m (47" x 39") tack board, mounted at eye-level on one side of a large poster board. A poster is considered successful if it conveys a clear message to the viewers.

The poster should provide:

clear information on objectives
the approach
the main results and
the major conclusions of the research

Viewers should be able to grasp the message in a short time, e.g., less than one minute.

Poster Presentation: Suggested Layout and Design Format
(Note: posters used at prior conferences are acceptable)

Title: should be appropriate for a general academic audience; make it interesting and informative.
Abstract: Display your abstract on one frame, accompanied by your name, and department on one frame.
Introduction: Specify the objective of your study, provide an overview of what you have done, and point out the significance and value of the research. Be succinct in this one-frame element.
Method: Use at least one frame to present the methodology.
Results: Indicate what your research has revealed.
Conclusion: Include, in one frame, an explanation of the ways the results satisfy the research objective.

Tips for a successful poster presentation:

poster presentation should be self-contained and complete without additional oral explanation
each frame of the poster presentation should contain a text block, a graphic, or a combination of the two elements
poster presentation should clearly indicate the order for viewing
text size should be at least 18 -24 points and be legible from 1.5 to 2 meters away
the title should be legible from 5 to 10 meters
limit the number of colours used to avoid busyness and distractions
be creative in the graphical and pictorial representation of your research; at least 50% of the poster presentation should be figures (i.e., charts, graphs, illustrations)
limit poster presentations to 12 frames
provide clear captions for all figures; figures should be in pleasing visual proportion to the font size used for captions
use colour to add impact and visual appeal.

Frequent mistakes on poster presentations:

too much text
information overload (too much info)
unclear structure – clarify your objectives, approach, conclusions or perspectives
inappropriate structure - apply standard structure of a written report i.e., title, abstract, introduction, experimental method, results, discussion, conclusion
poor figures - make graphics/charts reader friendly

Mandatory Oral Presentation

Mandatory oral presentations are scheduled for students who are fulfilling a seminar degree requirement. Students who want their presentations judged and eligible for prizes may be required to present their research a second time in the "judged" sessions.

Presenters who identify themselves in this category must submit their abstract through the Graduate Student Research Conference website and follow the prescribed format for conference abstract submissions. These sessions will be identified as mandatory within the conference program.

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