Amy Zeh HIP Student Showcase:
Instructions for Student Presenters at the In-Person Showcase
During the last week of every Fall and Spring Semester, students in High-Impact Practice Designated Courses have the opportunity to present their work on the UCF Main Campus in the Student Union, Key West Ballroom. Presenters display their work with conference-style posters to faculty, staff, other students, and members of the UCF community.
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Students may participate in both the virtual showcase (hosted on STARS) and the in-person showcase, or just the in-person showcase if you do not want your data displayed in STARS.
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If you change your mind about whether you want to present virtually or in-person, we can update your submission. Please email hip@ucf.edu or alison.hudson@ucf.edu to switch.
Purpose
The purpose of this showcase is to help students:
- Synthesize course content, real-world context experience, and self-reflection
- Practice professional presentations
- Articulate what they learned through their High Impact Practice designated course experience
- Communicate a deliverable from their HIP-designated course
Task
All participants are required to produce a conference-style poster presentation summarizing a project from their HIP-designated course: what they did, how they did it, and what they learned. During the in-person showcase, participants will stand by their poster ready to discuss their work with attendees who visit the showcase. This audience can range from other students to professors (in various departments) to interested members of the community.
What You Will Need to Present
- A printed poster discussing/displaying the preliminary findings from your research
- Posters are usually 36 inches tall by 48 inches wide and attached to whiteboards with magnets for display.
- It is participants’ responsibility to print their own poster. For guidelines about creating a poster and for poster printing options, please see below. If you need help, please email hip@ucf.edu or alison.hudson@ucf.edu.
- If you wish to request any special arrangements, please email alison.hudson@ucf.edu.
- A short (3-minute) summary of your research that you can present to guests who come to see your poster
Three steps to participate the in-person showcase:
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Sign-up to participate in the showcase.
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Submit your digital materials to STARS if you wish to participate in the virtual showcase and judging.
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Prepare your poster and make sure it is sent for printing at least three days before the event.
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Bring yourself and your poster to the Key West Ballroom dn the day of the showcase!
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Check in at the tables in front of the ballroom to find your poster board number.
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Set your poster up on the white board. (Magnets will be provided.)
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Discuss your poster with passersby. Have a brief (3-minute) summary of your work ready to share that can be understood by educated non-experts.
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Be sure to visit other posters yourself, too, and to vote for the People’s Choice Awards.
Tips for Creating a Conference Poster
Conference-style posters are large (3 feet by 4 feet) pieces of paper which allow presenters to communicate key points and visuals relating to their projects.
Posters are visual communication tools, so remember:
- To make your fonts big enough for passersby to read (usually, at least 32 point font)
- To include graphics, images, symbols, and colors as well as words
- These will draw attendees towards your work
- These will help you quickly depict what you did/studied/engaged with. (The saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words” is well known for a reason.)
Making a Poster
You can make a poster using PowerPoint (available for free to UCF students, along with the rest of the Microsoft Office 365 suite.) To make a poster, add all your text and images to a single slide, and make sure the slide is sized to Width: 48 inches and Height: 36 inches.
You can find poster templates from the College of Medicine and College of Community Innovation and Education but you are not required to use a template. As always, ask your instructor and follow their advice!
For examples of conference posters, you can check out the poster gallery from UCF’s 2023 Student Scholar Symposium You can also search online for virtual poster halls, such as this one from the Wisconsin Public Health Association.
Presenters are responsible for arranging for their posters to be printed and for bringing them to the showcase. There are variety of printing options both on-campus and off-campus. But before you print:
- Before you print:
- Re-read your poster to make sure there are typos or errors. (You probably won’t have time to print it again!)
- Check what the file will look like at full size. (Click View –> 100% on Microsoft projects.) Make sure no images or other graphics will be pixelated when printed at full size.
On-Campus Options
Some colleges and departments also have poster printers that their students can use. These include:
- Biology Department (for Biology students only)
- Burnett Honors College (for BHC students only)
- College of Community Innovation and Education
- College of Medicine
- GaIMs Maker Space
- LEAD Scholars Academy (LEAD Scholars only)
- NanoScience Technology Center (limited capacity)
- Sociology Department (for Sociology students only)
On-Campus Commercial Option
UCF Print Shop: $84 plus tax (photogloss)
- Order online at UCF Print Shop
- Click on “UCF Staff”
- Log in or create an account with an email, address, and password
- You will pay by credit or debit card and can use a wide variety of file formats, including PDF or just the PowerPoint document
Off-Campus Options
Staples ($40)
- Click ‘Get Started’ here for banner (not poster)
- Select “7 oz Poly” banner
- Set the orientation to Landscape
- Select the banner size 4ft by 3ft (36″ x 48″)
- Convert your poster to a PDF to upload
- Be careful to set margins with some wiggle room so that nothing gets cut off. You can check this in the preview
- Posters need to picked up at the location convenient to you (you will select this while ordering)
FedEx ($65 for premium, matte paper)
- Order online here
- Select Poster
- Convert your poster to a PDF
- Choose ‘Upload your own design’ (check that banner size is set to 4ft by 3ft or 36″ x 48″ and that the orientation is set to Landscape)
- Make sure you do not print a mounted
- Be careful to set margins with some wiggle room so that nothing gets cut off. You can check this in the preview
- Posters need to be picked up at the location convenient to you (you will select this while ordering)
*Note: the on- and off-campus prices are estimates and are subject to change and variability.
Remember to plan to print your poster several days before the showcase: many printing services, particularly those on campus, require at least 2-3 days to print a poster.
Don’t forget to check your poster’s size requirements! Most poster printers print 4 feet by 3 feet.
Once your poster is printed, you will stand next to it and use it to present your project. Have a brief (3-minute) summary ready to communicate to people who stop by your poster during the showcase.
The in-person event will be attended by other UCF faculty and students who are interested in HIP courses and it will be open to members of the public as well. Be sure to come prepared with a brief explanation of your work that will make sense to non-specialists, as well as to your professor!
Potential audiences:
- Undergraduates who are interested in starting research or taking HIP courses
- Faculty and staff from UCF who are interested in creating their own HIP courses
- Faculty and staff who want to support HIP courses
- Members of the public
- Faculty and staff
Points to include:
- Which course/topic your project relates to
- What you did as part of the project
- What’s on your poster
- You can point to relevant graphs, images, or points.
- If you do use technical terms, be sure to define them.
- What you concluded or learned
- Why should the audience care?
- Don’t be shy about sharing your impact/potential impact!
- Be sure to explain the implications, impact, and wider significance of your projects and don’t just assume your audience will make the connections themselves.
- What’s next: what will you do with this information or what could be done?
Remember that this showcase is a learning experience in itself. No one expects your project, poster, or presentation to be perfect. We are here to learn about what you have accomplished in just a semester. Have fun!
Students who present at the in-person event will be eligible for the People’s Choice Awards (which include scholarships funded by Student Government). Be sure to visit other posters, so you can vote, too (and so you can learn about other great courses and interesting projects at UCF).