Tips for Creating Your Presentation/Poster

Symposium Preparation

The all-day symposium consists of presentations and poster sessions on various topics completed by undergraduate students at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana during the summer.

Please check with your program to see if they have a specific template or other expectations.

Presenters must:

  1. Register by July 1, 2024 – https://go.illinois.edu/STEM2024
  2. Provide a topic title by July 15, 2024, at 9am. – See your email after July 1
  3. Give an 8-10 minute PowerPoint presentation at the symposium , prepare a poster and attend during the poster sessions, or participate in a Science Slam lightning talk (open to only select programs) to explain your research.
  4. Prepare to answer questions about your research.
  5. Stay for the day and support your fellow student researchers.

Dr. Celia Elliots’ (Physics Professor) Resources on Scientific Writing

Ensuring Quality and Professionalism

  • Make sure your mentor/advisor reads and approves your presentation/poster.
  • Ensure you have acknowledged who has funded your research this summer.
  • Practice your talk. Regardless of the way you plan to present your research.

Poster Resources – 48″ x 36″ (Landscape) -see the templates

Creating Scientific Posters – PDF

U of I Box Folder of Research Poster Templates

Home – Research Posters – LibGuides at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Poster printing resources (See your program lead for specific information on this, as some programs may pay for this.)

Presentation Resources

Creating Scientific Presentations – PDF

Science Slam (Lightning Talk) Resources*

*This option is only available to select programs; contact your project lead to find out if your project is participating.

These are 3-minute presentations aimed at getting a non-scientist/general audience excited about your research. You can use one PowerPoint slide (16×9 dimensions). This should give a big picture of your research, how your project fits in this, and why someone should care about it.

Strict time limit: 3min talk, no time for questions from the audience, presentations must be submitted by 7/25 at 9am (instructions will be sent to presenters via email)

Video policy: videos are not allowed in this short format presentation

You can see examples of Lightning talks here – https://grad.illinois.edu/research-live/about

Remember you should acknowledge the program that supported your summer position. Contact your project lead for this information if you do not have it.

FAQ (this will be updated with new questions)

What should I wear on the day of the symposium?

Comfortable shoes and business casual is acceptable.

What filename should we use for our posters/presentation?

Your filename should be:  Lastname_Firstname_ShortTitle

Where can I get my poster printed?

Here is a link to current poster printing resources. Poster Printing