Student Academic Showcase

General Instructions for Presenters

All Presenters

Depending on the category of your project, you will need to take different factors into consideration when preparing your presentation. Your faculty mentor will let you know how much time you have allotted for your presentation. Staying within the time limit will provide time to answer questions and to switch to the next presenter. See below for guidelines for each category. For clarification on the requirements specific to your discipline, consult with your faculty mentor.

Please follow these guidelines when designing your presentations.

Posters
  • Poster presentations have been evolving and every discipline has guidelines. You will want to work with your faculty mentor to determine what works the best with your discipline. All posters should include the project title, name(s) of presenter(s), and the name(s) of faculty mentors. Font sizes between 16- and 24-point fonts are recommended so that viewers are able to read your poster easily.
  • If needed, templates for a poster projects are available either in PowerPoint (please set the correct dimensions) or at posterpresentations.com.
Presentations
  • Supporting materials such as PowerPoint slides, databases, computer applications, prototypes, etc. may be used or demonstrated in your presentation.
  • If presenters choose to incorporate computer programs or PowerPoint slides (or the like), a font size of 20 point or larger is recommended. This is important because it prevents each slide from being overloaded with information and allows the audience to read your slides more easily.
  • Please check out the room in which you are presenting ahead of time and make sure that your electronic materials (such as your PowerPoint presentation) can be accessed from the computer in the room.
Exhibits and Demonstrations
  • Artwork, welding projects, or photographs must be displayed so that they can be viewed easily. For help preparing the exhibit, please consult your faculty mentor.
  • Instruments/equipment must be provided by the participant(s). Please inquire with your faculty mentor if you need access to an instrument (such as a piano), a music stand, or an accompanist for your performance.

Keep practicing your presentation. Whether you are giving a talk or creating a poster, the finished product will benefit from practice and revision.

If you’re not sure about presenting this year, you can still participate! See the For Volunteers section for more information.