Conference Guidelines
The conference showcases undergraduate and graduate students' academic activities taking place at Shippensburg University. This conference gives Shippensburg students the opportunity to present their academic projects to the campus community.
Mission
The Minds@Work conference is organized to promote, foster and celebrate a culture of student research, scholarship, and creative activity among all fields and disciplines at Shippensburg University.
General Guidelines
- On the day of the event, participants must sign-in at the registration desk, located outside the MPR. There you will pick-up essential materials personalized just for you (name tag, certificate of participation, and program). The registration desk will be open between 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
- Be on time in setting up your poster or oral presentation. The entire conference is organized on a tight schedule; therefore, please be conscientious of the time.
- Dress for success (wear appropriate attire).
- The people who visit your poster or oral presentation may be curious about YOU as well as your project. Be prepared to talk about your background and future plans.
- Remember that you know more about your research than any of the visitors, even professors. This should give you confidence to convey your ideas. But don't forget that all research raises more questions than are answered, so be prepared for questions that you cannot answer. Think of ways that future research might address some of the questions.
- Take time to look at posters and/or oral presentations of your fellow students, but keep an eye out for visitors to your own poster/presentation so you don't miss them.
- Have a good time. You've earned it!
Poster Guidelines
Poster presentations are primarily displays on poster boards. The poster is usually a mixture of a brief narrative, intermixed with tables, graphs, pictures, other presentation formats. Posters will be displayed on poster boards that are 36" X 48". Be aware there is no room for other materials and posters wider than 48" will exceed the display area. Also, mounting clips will be provided to attach posters to the display boards. Each poster session is an 1 1/2 hours long. Presenters should stand by their poster display for the full time so they can interact with guests who come to view their research.
Students are strongly encouraged to display professional quality posters. Please consult with your faculty mentor on the design of your poster. Students are able to use the University Print Shop to produce a professional looking poster for display at the conference.
For examples and for tips on creating effective posters, click the Student Resources link in the left menu.
Oral Presentation Guidelines
In a typical session of oral presentations, presenters are scheduled 20 minutes apart. Presenters take turns, and each presenter is allotted 15 minutes to talk. The 5 minutes after a talk are used for audience follow-up questions, and to allow the next presenter to set up.
Rooms in the CUB used for presentations will be equipped with a laptop and a large LCD screen at the front of the room. From the back of the room, the LCD screen is a bit small, so plan to use large images and fonts. Bring your digital presentation on a USB flash drive and /or CD/DVD, and please try to anticipate any software issues (e.g. operating system capabilities, different versions of software, etc).
As a common professional courtesy, presenters should remain in the room until all presentations in their session are complete.
For advice on delivering an effective oral presentation, click the Student Resources link in the left menu.
Panel Guidelines
Each panel varies in size and time allotted. Presenters should check with the faculty organizer of the panel to inquire about structure and time limits for presentations.
Rooms in the CUB used for presentations will be equipped with a laptop and a large LCD screen at the front of the room. From the back of the room, the LCD screen is a bit small, so plan to use large images and fonts. Bring your digital presentation on a USB flash drive and /or CD/DVD, and please try to anticipate any software issues (e.g. operating system capabilities, different versions of software, etc).
As a common professional courtesy, presenters should remain in the room until all presentations in their session are complete.
For advice on delivering an effective oral presentation, click the Student Resources link in the left menu.
Moderator Guidelines
Moderators, please be conscientious of the time, and keep your session on schedule since the conference is organized tightly. We want to be courteous of the other sessions and allow them their full allotted time. Plan to give signals/warnings to the speaker, perhaps at the 4-minutes remaining and 1-minute remaining. If the speaker goes over time, be prepared to stand up, politely apologize to the speaker that no time remains, ask the audience for questions, and allow the next speaker to set up.