academic conference presentation template

Academic Presentation Templates

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An academic presentation template is an effective way to present your research or project to a potential audience. It should be clear, concise, and informative. This document is used to convince the audience about the importance of your research or project, to show your methodology and findings, and to highlight the main contributions.

The purpose of an academic presentation is to make a convincing case for the significance of your research or project; therefore, it must contain information that effectively conveys to the audience that the proposed work is worthwhile. In addition to presenting the core elements of your research or project, you should include information demonstrating your ability to execute against those plans.

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What makes a great academic presentation?

A great academic presentation is one that effectively communicates complex ideas and information in a clear and concise manner. It should be well-organized and structured with a logical flow of ideas.

A great academic presentation should also be engaging and interactive, with the use of visuals and examples to illustrate key points. It is important to consider the audience and tailor the presentation to their level of understanding, while also challenging them to think critically. Additionally, a great academic presentation should be well-rehearsed and delivered with confidence and enthusiasm.

Finally, it should be supported by credible and relevant sources, including references to existing research and data to support arguments and claims made in the presentation.

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Academic Conference Presentations

A Step-by-Step Guide

• © 2022
• Mark R. Freiermuth 0

Gunma Prefectural Women’s University, Tamamura-machi, Japan

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

• Takes the presenter on a journey from initial idea to conference presentation
• Addresses topics such as abstract writing, choosing a conference, posters and online versus face-to-face presentations
• Based on the author's own experiences

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

Front matter, next up on stage….

Mark R. Freiermuth

Conferences: Choose Wisely Grasshopper

Getting started: the precise abstract, after the excitement fades: preparing for the presentation, tea for two or more: the group presentation, conferences: live and in-person, ghosts in the machine: the virtual presentation, the seven deadly sins: what not to do, the top five, back matter.

• English for Academic Purposes
• public speaking
• research presentation
• academic skills
• conferences
• poster presentations

About this book

This book provides a step-by-step journey to giving a successful academic conference presentation, taking readers through all of the potential steps along the way—from the initial idea and the abstract submission all the way up to the presentation itself. Drawing on the author's own experiences, the book highlights good and bad practices while explaining each introduced feature in a very accessible style. It provides tips on a wide range of issues such as writing up an abstract, choosing the right conference, negotiating group presentations, giving a poster presentation, what to include in a good presentation, conference proceedings and presenting at virtual or hybrid events. This book will be of particular interest to graduate students, early-career researchers and non-native speakers of English, as well as students and scholars who are interested in English for Academic Purposes, Applied Linguistics, Communication Studies and generally speaking, most of the Social Sciences. With that said, because of the book’s theme, many of the principles included within will appeal to broad spectrum of academic disciplines.

-Sarah Mercer , Professor for Foreign Language Teaching and the Head of the ELT Research and Methodology Department, University of Graz, Austria

Authors and Affiliations

About the author.

Mark R. Freiermuth  is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Gunma Prefectural Women's University, Japan. 

Bibliographic Information

Book Title : Academic Conference Presentations

Book Subtitle : A Step-by-Step Guide

Authors : Mark R. Freiermuth

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21124-9

Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan Cham

eBook Packages : Social Sciences , Social Sciences (R0)

Copyright Information : The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022

Hardcover ISBN : 978-3-031-21123-2 Published: 05 January 2023

eBook ISBN : 978-3-031-21124-9 Published: 04 January 2023

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : VII, 159

Number of Illustrations : 45 b/w illustrations

Topics : Applied Linguistics , Research Skills , Career Skills , Sociology of Education

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Home Free PowerPoint Templates Free Conference Presentation Template

Download Free Conference Presentation Template

Our Free Conference Presentation Template features a slide deck for preparing conference presentations . Professionals from every field of science or business showcase their research and findings at conferences. However, preparing a comprehensive yet-to-the-point conference presentation is always tricky. For this, we have designed a 100% editable slide template for our users that is free to download and convenient for editing with all PowerPoint versions, Google Slides, and Keynote presentation software. It includes customizable graphs, background features, and tables for an interactive presentation. 

This Free Conference Presentation Template has a black background theme with simple graphics. The first slide carries a title segment for displaying the presentation’s topic or project’s title. An instructor human illustration is added to this slide with a paper diagram representing the research paper discussion. The following slides of this free slide template have:

• Vertical process diagram for showing the objectives
• Four numbering circles to mention the methodologies used for the research
• 4-segment horizontal figure to showcase the findings and results
• A data-driven bar graph for presenting the statistical findings & results
• Vertical 3-segment process chart for adding conclusion points

In addition, users can edit the acknowledgments slide to display the names of the authors, supervisors, or reviewers. This free conference PowerPoint template can be helpful for business and scientific research presentations. Professionals can also re-purpose the slides for their specific use cases. For instance, the conclusion slide can show the options for future research. Likewise, users can include some process steps instead of the methodologies used. So, download and try this free conference template for Google Slides. You can also check our featured Conference PowerPoint template for your presentations. Download and try it now for free!

• 100% Editable PowerPoint Templates.
• Compatible with all major Microsoft PowerPoint versions, Keynote and Google Slides.
• Modern 16:9 Aspect Ratio.
• Scalable Vectorial PowerPoint Shapes and PowerPoint Icons.
• Instant Access and Download.
• New Templates every week.

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Our PowerPoint Templates are compatible with Google Slides. Take the most of every platform using the tool you like.

Conference Presentation: A comprehensive guide

In this guide learn how to choose a topic, develop content, deliver with confidence, and more.

Raja Bothra

Building presentations

Welcome to the world of conference presentations!

Whether you're an academic, a professional, or simply someone eager to share your knowledge, the art of delivering an effective conference presentation is a skill worth mastering.

In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the ins and outs of conference presentations, from understanding what they are to mastering the key elements that make them successful.

So, grab your "presentation slide" of inspiration and let's dive into the world of conference presentations.

What is a conference presentation?

A conference presentation is a means of conveying information, research findings, or ideas to an audience in a structured and engaging manner. It's a platform for individuals to showcase their expertise, share their insights, and foster discussions on topics ranging from academic research to professional insights. Whether you're presenting at an "academic conference" or a corporate gathering, the goal remains the same: to effectively communicate your message.

Types of Conference Presentations

Before we delve into the nitty-gritty details, let's explore the different types of conference presentations you might encounter:

Oral presentation

The quintessential "oral presentation" remains one of the most prominent formats across conferences, be it academic or professional. These presentations typically span a concise 15-20 minutes, providing a platform for presenters to delve into a wide array of topics:

• Research findings : Share your latest research discoveries.
• Completed works : Showcase your completed projects and their outcomes.
• Innovative concepts : Introduce groundbreaking ideas that push the boundaries.
• Theoretical Applications : Explore the theoretical underpinnings of your field.
• Methodologies : Explain the methodologies you've employed in your work.

The structure of an oral presentation allows for a systematic exploration of these topics, followed by a brief Q&A session, providing valuable interactions with the audience.

Poster presentation

On the flip side, "poster presentations" offer a more relaxed and interactive avenue to convey your work. This format involves creating a visual "poster presentation" that succinctly highlights your key points. Here's why poster presentations are worth considering:

• Concise and visually appealing : Posters condense your work into a visually engaging format.
• Informal interaction : Presenters stand by their posters in a common area, ready to engage with curious attendees.
• Networking opportunity : It's an excellent way to network with fellow researchers and gain valuable feedback on your work.

Poster presentations bridge the gap between the visual and the informative, making them an excellent choice for those looking to engage their audience in a more relaxed setting.

Beyond the basics

While oral and poster presentations are the cornerstone of many conferences, there are other presentation formats that cater to diverse objectives and preferences:

• Panel discussions : Experts gather to discuss a specific topic in front of an audience, offering varied perspectives and insights.
• Roundtables : In a more informal setting, a small group of individuals engage in in-depth discussions on a particular topic.
• Workshops : Attendees immerse themselves in hands-on activities to acquire new skills or knowledge.
• Keynote speeches : Prominent speakers take the stage to deliver inspiring talks on topics of paramount importance to the conference audience.
• Lightning talks : These brief, high-impact presentations, typically lasting 5-10 minutes, cover a wide array of topics in a succinct manner.

Selecting the most appropriate presentation format depends on the nature of the conference and your personal preferences. If you're unsure about which format aligns best with your objectives, don't hesitate to reach out to the conference organizers for guidance. After all, the key to a successful conference presentation is choosing the format that allows you to shine and effectively convey your message.

How to structure an effective conference presentation

A well-structured presentation is like a well-composed symphony - it captures the audience's attention and leaves a lasting impression. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you create a harmonious presentation:

1. Begin with a clear introduction

The beginning of your presentation is your chance to make a memorable first impression. Start by introducing yourself and your topic. Use a "clear outline" to provide a roadmap for your presentation. For instance, you can say, "Today, I'll discuss the key elements of a successful conference presentation, including effective structure, engaging visuals, and impactful delivery."

2. Create an engaging body

The body of your presentation should contain the main points you want to convey. Here's where your "slide deck" comes into play. Each slide should emphasize a single point, keeping it concise and visually appealing. Remember the "good rule of thumb" - one slide per key idea.

3. Emphasize with visuals

Visual aids, such as graphs and images, can help "emphasize" your message and make complex information easily understood. However, don't overload your slides with visuals; use them strategically to "get the message across."

4. Maintain audience engagement

Your "presentation style" plays a vital role in keeping your audience engaged. Practice "body language" that conveys confidence and enthusiasm. Maintain "eye contact with your audience" to establish a connection. Utilize gestures to "emphasize" key points and establish a rapport with your audience.

5. Summarize key takeaways

As you approach the "end of your presentation," allocate some time to summarize the key takeaways. This reinforces the main points and ensures your audience leaves with a clear understanding of your message.

Do’s and don'ts of a conference presentation

Now that you know how to structure your presentation effectively, let's explore some do's and don'ts that can make or break your presentation.

• Rehearse : "Rehearse your presentation" practise multiple times to ensure a smooth delivery.
• Use visuals : Incorporate visuals, but don't let them "distract the audience."
• Maintain eye contact : "Maintain eye contact with your audience" to establish a connection.
• Engage the audience : "Give your audience" opportunities to participate, ask questions, or share their thoughts.
• Time management : Stick to the allotted time. "Conference organizers" appreciate punctuality.

Don'ts:

• Overwhelm with text : Avoid adding slide after slide filled with font text. Remember, less is often more.
• Lack of preparation : Don't "rehearse" just once. The more you practice, the more confident you'll feel.
• Reading slides : Don't simply "read your paper" or slides. Your audience can do that themselves.
• Ignoring questions : Always address "questions from the audience" respectfully and thoughtfully. Avoid being unprofessional.
• Going off topic : Stay on track. "Unrelated tangents" can confuse your audience.

Summarizing Key Takeaways

In this comprehensive guide, we've covered the essentials of crafting an "effective conference presentation." From structuring your presentation to engaging your audience, you now have the tools to shine at your next conference.

• Conference Presentations are a means to share information or research effectively.
• Types include oral (concise talks) and poster (visual presentations).
• Other formats like panels, roundtables, workshops, keynotes, and lightning talks cater to different objectives.
• Structure your presentation with a clear intro, engaging body, visuals, audience engagement, and key takeaways.
• Do's: Rehearse, use visuals wisely, maintain eye contact, engage the audience, and manage time.
• Don'ts: Avoid overwhelming text, lack of preparation, reading slides, ignoring questions, and going off-topic.

Remember, a great presentation is not just about delivering information; it's about creating a memorable experience for your audience. Whether you're "presenting at a conference" for the first time or you're a seasoned pro, these tips for presenting will help you make a lasting impression.

1. How can I create the best presentation for my conference talk?

To craft an impactful presentation for your conference talk, consider beginning with a PowerPoint template tailored to the theme of the event. The right template, such as a specialized conference strategy presentation template , can provide a solid foundation for organizing your content. Ensure your presentation flows seamlessly, incorporating bullet points strategically to highlight key information. Moreover, delivering an effective conference paper necessitates practicing in front of a mirror and employing gestures to underscore essential points.

‍ 2. What is the typical length of a conference presentation?

The length of your effective presentation may vary depending on the conference committee's guidelines, but most conferences allocate around 15-20 minutes for each presentation. It's important to remember to keep track of time as you present, as you may run out of time if you're not careful.

3. Do I need to submit an abstract before presenting a paper at a conference?

Yes, you typically need to submit an abstract related to your topic before being accepted to present at a conference. The conference committee reviews these abstracts to determine which presentations are most suitable and interesting to the audience members interested in your research.

4. How can I make my conference presentation memorable?

To make your memorable presentation, use slide decks effectively, and consider the presentation technology available on the conference platform. Emphasize key points and use gestures to engage your audience. Also, e.g., include relevant images and graphs in your slides to help the audience understand your research paper.

5. What should I do if I'm presenting at a conference where the audience is unfamiliar with my field?

If you're presenting at a conference where the audience is unfamiliar with your field, make sure to use simple language and avoid jargon. Provide enough context and background information related to your topic to help the audience understand. Additionally, be prepared to ask a question or two to engage the audience and familiarize them with your work during the Q&A session.

Create your conference presentation with prezent

Before we conclude, here's a valuable tip: Consider using presentation software like Prezent to streamline your conference presentation creation process. Prezent offers:

• Time savings: Prezent can save you up to 70% of the time typically spent on crafting presentations, allowing you to focus on other critical conference preparations.
• Brand consistency: Access to brand-approved designs from Fortune companies ensures that your conference presentation maintains a professional and consistent look.
• Audience engagement: Prezent helps you understand your audience's preferences, enabling you to create presentations that resonate and engage effectively.
• Cost efficiency: By standardizing presentations and streamlining communication, Prezent can cut communication costs by up to 60%, a valuable advantage for conference budgets.
• Overnight service: Take advantage of Prezent's overnight presentation service for tight deadlines, ensuring you receive a polished presentation by the next business day.

In conclusion, a successful conference presentation is all about striking the right balance between structure, visuals, and engagement. Mastering these elements will not only boost your "presentation skills" but also ensure that your audience leaves with a deeper understanding of your work.

So, go ahead, "present your paper" with confidence, captivate your audience, and leave a lasting impression on the conference stage.

Sign up for our free trial or book a demo !  

Happy presenting!

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Conference Presentations

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This resource provides a detailed overview of the common types of conference papers and sessions graduate students can expect, followed by pointers on presenting conference papers for an audience. 

Types of conference papers and sessions

Panel presentations are the most common form of presentation you will encounter in your graduate career. You will be one of three to four participants in a panel or session (the terminology varies depending on the organizers) and be given fifteen to twenty minutes to present your paper. This is often followed by a ten-minute question-and-answer session either immediately after your presentation or after all of the speakers are finished. It is up to the panel organizer to decide upon this framework. In the course of the question-and-answer session, you may also address and query the other panelists if you have questions yourself. Note that you can often propose a conference presentation by yourself and be sorted onto a panel by conference organizers, or you can propose a panel with a group of colleagues. Self-proposed panels typically have more closely related topics than conference-organized panels.

Roundtables feature an average of five to six speakers, each of whom gets the floor for approximately five to ten minutes to speak on their respective topics and/or subtopics. At times, papers from the speakers might be circulated in advance among the roundtable members or even prospective attendees.

Workshops feature one or a few organizers, who usually give a brief presentation but spend the majority of the time for the session facilitating an activity that attendees will do. Some common topics for these sessions typically include learning a technology or generating some content, such as teaching materials.

Lightning talks (or Ignite talks, or Pecha Kucha talks) are very short presentations where presenters' slide decks automatically advance after a few seconds; most individual talks are no longer than 5 minutes, and a lightning talk session typically invites 10 or more presenters to participate over the course of an hour or two rather than limiting the presenters like a panel presentation. A lightning talk session will sometimes be held as a sort of competition where attendees can vote for the best talk. 

SIGs (Special Interest Groups) are groups of scholars focused on a particular smaller topic within the purview of the larger conference. The structure of these sessions varies by conference and even by group, but in general they tend to be structured either more like a panel presentation, with presenters and leaders, or more like a roundtable, with several speakers and a particular meeting agenda. These styles resemble, respectively, a miniconference focusing on a particular topic and a committee meeting. 

Papers with respondents are structured around a speaker who gives an approximately thirty-minute paper and a respondent who contributes their own thoughts, objections, and further questions in the following fifteen minutes. Finally, the speaker gets that same amount of time to formulate their reply to the respondent.

Poster presentations ask participants to visually display their ideas on a research poster, which is typically displayed with other research posters in a specific area at a conference. The poster needs to be understandable on its own (without the author) as viewers sometimes look through the posters outside the bounds of the poster session, which is a scheduled period of time where poster authors stand with their posters and engage viewers in conversation about the work. Research posters have long tended to follow common templates for design, but in recent years some scholars have begun challenging these templates for improved usability (for example, the Better Poster campaign as described here  or the APA template based on the original, here.

You can read more about research posters on our resource here .

Presenting the conference paper

Aim to take less time than you are given! If your presentation slot is 15 minutes, aim for 13 or 14 when you practice. A little leeway and a slightly shorter presentation is a courtesy to your audience and to your fellow presenters, and will not at all imply that you are unprepared or unprofessional — in fact, being able to keep well within your allotted time is the mark of a good presenter.

Make sure you speak slowly and clearly, using accessibility aids if available such as a microphone or closed captioning on a slide deck. Many presenters have begun bringing accessibility copies of their talks, which are printed transcripts of the talk using a larger font for audience members who need them. It is also becoming increasingly common for presenters at conferences to share their slides and copies of their talk via a shortened link or QR code found on the bottom of the slides so that audiences may access them later or even while they are in your session.

The conventions for presentation differ based on field. Some fields tend toward reading papers aloud with very little audiovisual accompaniment; others use slide decks; others speak extemporaneously. You can find out more about typical practices in your field by attending conferences yourself and by asking mentors. Generally, you will be able to improve the accessibility of your presentation if you have a visual accompaniment and prepared remarks.

Even in fields where presenters tend to read papers verbatim, it is rarely a good idea to bring a paper from a class or another research paper you have written without editing it for an oral presentation. Seminar papers tend to be too long to read in 15 minutes, and often lead to graduate students surpassing their time limits. Moreover, research papers are meant to be read — they lack the kinds of repetition and simple sentence structure that are more beneficial to listeners. Finally, conference presentations do not serve the same purposes as most class papers — typically in a class, you're expected to show that you have understood the material, but at a conference, listeners are more interested in hearing what contributions you have that might help them in their own research. It's typical to move the bulk of your literature review to an appendix or another document so that you can discuss other scholarship in the area if it comes up in the Q&A, but during your presentation you're left free to focus on your own methods and findings. (Many presenters will even say: "I'm skipping a lot of [X material] for the sake of time, but I'm happy to discuss it later with anyone who's interested.")

Since you will present your paper orally, you may repeat important points and say more about the structure of the essay than a written submission to a journal (or a paper for your undergraduate or graduate courses) would require. This often means signposting orally when you are moving to a new section of the paper or when you are shifting to a new idea. The thesis of your paper should come early in your presentation to give listeners a clear understanding of what is to follow. At this point, you may also overview or forecast your paper and tell listeners how you will move from one argument to the next. It is generally advised to quickly summarize your important points in a bulleted list at the end of your presentation to remind everyone of the two or three most essential arguments or findings.

If you use a slide presentation, you may want to follow the guidelines presented in the OWL resource, Designing an Effective PowerPoint Presentation .

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Create a Conference Presentation

Common types of conference presentations.

• Full paper  - The length of a full paper is variable, usually between 20 and 40 min, and rarely exceeds one hour. A full paper may be followed by question time.
• Short paper  - This type of conference presentation can be as short as 10 min, and very often it is one in a series of short papers in a 1- or 2-hour session on a particular conference sub-topic or theme, each followed by 10 minutes question time. Timing is crucial as it is common for short paper sessions to be carefully managed by timekeepers who will ‘terminate’ your paper after the allocated time.
• Workshop  - The emphasis of most workshops is on their practical nature. Their purpose is for participants to experience a strategy, a technique or a practical demonstration, and to have opportunities to question you about the value or workability of what you are presenting.
• Poster  - You prepare a poster of your work (one or more A1 displays, including diagrams, text, references or visuals). This is displayed in an area of the conference venue. Your poster may be staffed at particular times when you are required to be available to provide further information or answer questions about your poster.
• Discussion paper -  It is assumed that participants have read the paper. A summary is presented at the beginning of the paper (usually, but not always by the paper presenter), and the session consists mainly of a discussion or defence of the issues, questions and ideas raised in the paper.
• Panel presentation/discussion  - You are one of several people on a panel discussing a theme/topic related to the conference. Your role is to be an expert in a particular issue, topic, technology, strategy or you represent an institution, department or company. Normally you receive advanced notice of this, but sometimes you can be asked to be a panel member at the conference.
• Roundtable discussion  - This is a short paper presentation followed by the presenter facilitating/workshopping discussion with participants in groups.

Preparing your conference presentation

There are significant differences between a written paper, essay or report and a conference presentation. The introduction of a conference presentation should be considerably longer than that of a written text. Repetition is vital in a conference presentation. An audience needs to hear information several times and in slightly different forms to understand it, whereas in a written text the reader can refer back if necessary. Informal rather than formal language should be used in an oral conference presentation.

Think of a ‘catchy’ title as most conferences run parallel sessions and your presentation may compete with numerous presentations offered at the same time.

You will need to submit an abstract to the conference committee for your presentation to be accepted. If you have already written your paper, this task should be fairly easy as the abstract is a summary of the paper which is usually around 200–400 words . Ensure the issues, questions, thesis as well as the conclusion findings are clearly stated in the abstract.

In case the paper has not been written yet, prepare the abstract in such a way that you do not commit yourself to details that will not be addressed in the final paper.

Ensure that you follow guidelines set by the conference organizers regarding length, layout, references, etc. Write the paper as you would an essay, a report, or, more and more commonly, a journal article. The latter is particularly important if the conference proceedings are to be published (refereed or non-refereed). Check previous conference proceedings or journals in your field to ensure consistency with style, referencing, etc.

Presenting your conference presentation

When presenting your conference presentation you need to know your answers to the following questions:

• Is the purpose clearly stated: are you reporting, comparing, convincing, arguing, questioning…?
• Is the thesis/topic clearly stated: “In this paper, I want to report the findings of recent research which shows that under certain conditions, dolphins can be taught how to read simple text”?
• Are your main arguments/ideas supported with evidence?
• Are all the materials relevant to the topic?
• Have you demonstrated your knowledge of the subject?
• Is the level of technicality suited to the audience?
• How do you reply to audience’s questions: long questions, ‘mini papers’ disguised as questions…?

Organise your presentation

Most presentations are organised according to a predictable pattern. They have three main stages: introduction, body and conclusion (i.e. tell them what you are going to say; then say it; then tell them what you have said).

When a presentation does not have these clear sections, it can be very difficult for listeners to follow what is being said.

Introduction

This is the most crucial part of any presentation. You need to capture the audience’s interest in your topic and establish rapport with them. Your introduction should let the audience know what they are going to hear in the presentation. They need to know what to expect in order to get interested and to be able to follow you. Giving them an outline of your presentation in your introduction enables them to do this.

You need to:

• capture the audience’s attention with a question, quotation, anecdote, or interesting statistic, etc.
• main theme or main argument
• main points you will cover and the order in which you will cover them.

The body of your presentation must be clearly organised with the main points highlighted. One effective technique is to number your ideas. Any idea which is new to your audience needs to be presented simply with supportive evidence or examples which will make it more easily understood. Each important idea should be presented several times in different ways within the body of your presentation. Your audience needs several opportunities to absorb the full meaning and the significance of the most important ideas. It is also important to state the links between your ideas clearly.

The body is where you develop your main ideas/argument, using supporting ideas/evidence. Use techniques that make it easy for the listener to follow your talk:

• number your ideas: “ There are three main factors... ”
• arrange your ideas in logical order, such as chronological; cause and effect; problem–solution
• use transitional devices to help the audience follow the direction of your talk: “ secondly…; another important point is...; on the other hand…; I would now like to move on and look at another aspect of the research.. .”
• state the main idea
• refer to experts, provide examples to illustrate the idea
• provide statistics, facts, tell anecdotes (if time permits)
• provide case studies, etc.
• repeat important ideas using different words so the audience has several opportunities to absorb them
• don’t make the information too dense – remember the audience is listening, not reading!

The conclusion sums up main points. The conclusion should reinforce the central ideas of the presentation and signal a forceful ending. A weak, inconclusive or apologetic closing detracts from a good presentation. You should show in your conclusion that you have covered all the points that you said you would in your introduction. You should also show that you are confident, and that you have communicated effectively.

It is important to have a strong conclusion so the audience is left with a good impression.

• Summarise the main ideas of your presentation.
• Don’t introduce any new ideas.
• Work towards a strong ending – don’t finish abruptly or say ‘That’s all’. Perhaps leave the audience with something to think about.

Presentation Tips

Advance preparation.

The more you know about your audience, the more likely you will be able to give an effective presentation. Try to find out as much as you can about who will be there, what their background is, why they will be coming, and how much they will already know about the topic. Go to the room where you will make your presentation and get a feel of its size, acoustics, seating, etc. If you can, familiarise yourself with the equipment in the room.

Clear pronunciation

Your voice must be clear and distinct. If you know you have difficulty with pronunciation, speak a little more slowly than usual. Use intonation, stress, changes in pace (slow down at important points, speed up at details, anecdotes) and pause to keep the listeners’ attention, and focus attention on important points.

Body language

It has been estimated that 75% of meaning transferred is non-verbal.  Try to maintain eye contact with your audience as this helps keep your audience engaged. Focus on standing straight and directly facing your audience, using hand gestures to emphasise important information.

Visual aids 

A presentation can be enhanced by the effective use of overhead transparencies (slides), charts, pictures, posters or PowerPoint presentations (with limited graphic/sound gimmicks). They provide variety and can help reinforce points made. However, you are still the main communicator of your message. Be familiar with your visual aids, refer to them specifically and only display them when you are referring to them, otherwise they will only be a distraction.

• Physical charts, graphs, pictures, etc.: ensure that the size is appropriate for a large room. If necessary, back up with handouts.
• Video: ensure the segment shown is not too long in relation to the overall length of your presentation.
• Limit the amount of material on each visual: your listeners should be able to read and understand a visual in five seconds or less.
• Be sure your visuals are large enough to be seen by everyone: the lettering should usually be minimum 20-22 pt. font.
• Use diagrams, graphs and charts instead of words where possible.
• Eliminate unnecessary detail from diagrams, graphs and charts.

Expression and style

Try to speak to your audience using notes rather than memorising or reading your presentation. In order to do this, you will have to practise your presentations as many times as you can. If possible, perform in front of an audience. Otherwise, practise in front of a mirror or record yourself on your phone. This will also give you an idea of how long your presentation will take.

Use a conversation style to make your audience feel personally involved. Each time you use the word ‘you’, the audience feels compelled to pay attention.  

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Adapted from Barthel, A. 2010, ‘Presenting a conference paper’, ELSSA Centre, University of Technology Sydney.   

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.

Academic presentations: Structure

• Presentation Design
• Slide design
• Conferences
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“A solid structure is the foundation of a coherent presentation, and shows the relationship between the parts and whole.” Nancy Duarte,  Resonate

A presentation that has a strong, clear structure is a presentation that is easy to follow. Without structure, a presentation can be confusing to an audience. How do they know if you are going to cover what they need to know? How can they tell which slides contain the most important points? This page considers some ways that you can organise your slides to give shape to your presentation as a whole.

Basic presentation structure

Every presentation should flow like a good story. It should involve  the audience directly.

• The  beginning  section is where you hook them. Start with the general picture then explain the specific problem and how by listening to your presentation you can solve it for them.
• The  middle  section should contain the main detail of your presentation, and can be organised in a number of ways (two good ones are explained below).
• Finally your  end  section should summarise the presentation and lead the audience to the next step.

Design your slides so that these sections  look distinctive  and any  key points  stand out.

Beginning section

This section is all about drawing the audience in; giving them a reason to want to listen to the main part of your presentation.

You can include any or all of the following:

• A really well designed title slide that grabs the attention
• A slide that gives the audience the big picture
• A slide that shows what you will be focusing on
• A slide that uses the word 'you' or 'your' in the title to connect with the audience
• A slide that tells the audience what is to come in your presentation (its structure)

After your title slide, you need slides covering these areas

Middle section structure option 1 - key points

Several authors suggest using a structure that involves an introduction followed by a middle section containing key point slides (usually 3).

The ideas is that there is a  hierarchy  of slides so that after each key point you have other slides that explain or add detail to that key point.

Cliff Atkinson (writer of the book  Beyond Bullet Points ) suggested using a table in MSWord (similar to the one in the template that is available to download at the bottom of this page) to help you structure and plan your presentation before you even open PowerPoint. This means you can concentrate on your story before getting distracted by design and content issues. We have copy of the book in our library: Beyond Bullet Points:  Beyond Bullet Points .

Middle section option 2 - sparkline

For her book  Resonate  Nancy Duarte looked in detail at the structure of successful presentations throughout history (even back to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address). She discovered that many have the same structural form which she calls a 'sparkline'.

This structure makes a clear distinction between  what is  (the position before the presentation is seen and acted upon) and  what could be  (the position after the presentation is seen and acted upon). The audience is introduced to the what is  state at the beginning of the presentation and then switched back and forth between  what could be  and  what is  several times before ending in the  what could be  condition, which she calls  Reward:New Bliss .

Nancy explains this better here:  Sparkline Overview .

In terms of academic work the  what is  is the current level of knowledge or previous thinking on a subject and the  what could be  is the new knowledge or new thinking. The  new bliss  is what the audience could do or learn next now that they are aware of the change. 

End section

The end of your presentation is a very powerful part because it contains your final words, the ones that the audience will take away with them. After you have finished your middle section, have at least one slide that summarises your main points  and one slide that leaves the audience with  the most important point  of your presentation - the one you would like them to remember even if they forget everything else.

Include slides that show these in your end section

DO NOT  finish with a slide that says  Any Questions?  or  Thanks for Listening  as this a waste of your final slide and does not need a visual image to help the audience understand your words. This slide could potentially be viewed longer than any other slide (whilst you answer your questions or receive feedback) and so you want to make sure it contains something that is important to both you and the audience.

These slides are a waste of your last slide - use the final slide for your most important point not a throwaway.

Template for structuring an academic presentation

This MSWord document is a template for structuring a typical academic presentation, it can be adapted and changed if necessary depending on how long the presentation you need to give is. Try to fill it in using full sentences as these will become your slide titles .

The blue sections are optional. The NEED and TASK sections are most suited to research presentations.

This is designed for a presentation between 20-30 minutes long. Shorter presentations will have no explanatory points and longer presentations will need more explanatory points.

This is adapted from Cliff Atkinson's Beyond Bullet Points template. See the link to the book above.

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Conference presentations 101: master the art of speaking to an audience

Don’t get stage fright when it comes to presenting your research. Ayten Ordu offers her tips for preparing for speaking success

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Presenting research to an audience and taking part in conferences is integral to academic life. You may be presenting to fellow academics, students or even the general public, but public speaking doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task. Here is my advice for preparing engaging speeches and delivering them with confidence.

Be prepared

You might be speaking on a panel made up of researchers from different disciplines, but it’s crucial you have a good grasp of the area you’re presenting. An academic at an early stage of their career should be particularly mindful of this and should consider all resources at their disposal: journal articles, books, rules and regulations, real-life cases, experiences and, of course, online. Devote as much time to this as possible and consider all aspects of the topic. This will help you prepare for questions that aren’t directly related to your speech. As a speaker, you must be prepared for all scenarios.

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Organise your thoughts

Once you’ve carried out the research, prepare a paper about the topic. You can structure it like a research article, with an introduction, findings and a conclusion, or you can write it more naturally as a speech. Start with “Welcome to our panel on [subject matter]. Today, I will be speaking about…” By writing it down, you can see how the presentation flows.

Prepare your talk in this way before putting the information into presentation slides. If you start with the slides, the presentation might not flow as effectively.

Engage your audience visually

When you’ve structured your presentation, the next step is to prepare the slides. Keep them simple and understandable. Use simple words, bullet points, perhaps add visual effects to engage the audience, and avoid complex sentences.

I like to use a light-coloured background with dark text and images. Charts and flowcharts can be added if suitable for the topic – they help to present complex information in a simple way.

Practise, practise, practise

When presenting, avoid reading from text – this can be off-putting for the audience. For this reason, practise your speech as much as possible using the prepared slides. Rehearsing the speech will not only mean you don’t have to rely on the text, it will also help you overcome nerves and stress.

At conferences, you will only have a limited time to present – sometimes as little as 10 minutes. If you’ve prepared too many slides and exceeded the time limit, practising your speech will help you to spot this. Reduce the number of slides if this happens, as you will need enough time to present everything smoothly without having to rush to finish.

Allow time for questions at the end. The audience will undoubtedly want to ask about what you’ve said and perhaps even about something you haven’t said. This is where your hours of preparation will kick in, allowing you to handle curveball questions with ease. 

Ayten Ordu is a lecturer and researcher in the Faculty of Law at Near East University.

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Academic Conference Poster

Academic conference poster presentation, free google slides theme and powerpoint template.

Are you ready to present your research at an academic conference? Make sure you do it in style with this amazing academic conference poster template! Showcase your data, results, and conclusions in a clear and eye-catching design. This template features a cream color scheme with a modern style, giving your presentation the look it needs to stand out. Add your own titles, images, and other content to make the poster truly unique

Features of this template

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Beyond the Podium: Understanding the differences in conference and academic presentations

Conferences can be captivating as it where knowledge meets presentation skills. They serve as dynamic platforms where scholars, researchers, and professionals interact to share insights, exchange ideas, and foster collaboration. The importance of conferences lies in their ability to nurture intellectual growth, stimulate discussions, and propel academic advancements. Let’s uncover the intricacies of various conference presentations to help you shine in the academic spotlight.

The Multi-faceted Nature of Conference

Conference is a broad term that encompasses various professional/ academic events. As we delve deeper into such events, we encounter different types of conferences, each serving a specific purpose. Common types of conferences include Business Conferences, Academic Conferences, Educational Conferences, Scientific Conferences, Social/ Cultural Conferences, Peace Conferences, Trade Conferences, Press or News Conferences, and Authors’ Conferences.

In addition to the different types of conferences, there are several types of conference presentations. Understanding them is important to make the right presentation for a conference before submitting your abstract.

Types of Conference Presentations

Here are the commonly used formats for conference presentations:

1. Oral Presentation

Oral presentations are the standard form of presentation where the speaker(s) share details about their research questions , methodology , findings, applications, etc. It lasts between 15-30 minutes. Oral presentations can be further divided into four subtypes:

1.1. Student Presentation:

These presentations emphasize on students work and offer them an opportunity to share their work with the academic community.

1.2. Panel Discussion:

Panel discussions are delivered by a panel of speakers who share different aspects of the presentations. Furthermore, such events are generally more open and characterized by engaging discussions.

2. Poster Presentation

Poster presentations are less formal platforms to share your work in a visual format. Presenters summarize their work in a visually appealing poster and display them for the attendees to understand.

Both oral and poster presentations serve as integral components of conferences, catering to different learning preferences and promoting the exchange of knowledge among researchers and professionals in diverse fields.

However, based on the difference in the content, and the intended audience, conference presentations can be divided as:

1. Academic Presentations

Academic presentations at conferences are the bedrock of knowledge dissemination. They showcase research findings, theories, and contribute to the collective intellectual discourse.

• General Elements : Title and Authorship, Introduction , Objectives/  Hypothesis, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, and Recommendations
• Who Presents: Researchers, Scholars, Academics, Graduate Students, and Professionals
• For Whom: Peers, Fellow Researchers, Scholars, Academics, Professionals, Reviewers, and Critics

2. Research Presentations

Research presentations delve into the specifics of a study, highlighting methodologies, results, and implications. Additionally, they bridge the gap between theory and practical application, offering a comprehensive view of the research process.

• General Elements: Title Slide, Introduction, Objectives/ Hypothesis , Literature Review , Research Design and Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, and Recommendations
• Who Presents: Researchers or Scholars who conducted the study, Primary Author(s), Principal Investigator, Graduate Students, and Collaborators
• For Whom: Peers and Colleagues, Academic Community, Reviewers and Assessors, Industry Professionals, Policy Makers and Practitioners, and Funding Agencies

3. Grant Proposal Presentations

These presentations aim to convince funding bodies about the significance and viability of a proposed project. However, they require a blend of persuasive communication and a clear articulation of the project’s objectives and potential impact.

• General Elements: Introduction, Background and Rationale , Objectives and Goals, Methods and Approach, Timeline, Budget, Evaluation and Metrics, Sustainability and Long-term Impact, Collaborations and Partnerships, Team Qualifications and Expertise, Plan of Action, and Challenges and Mitigation Strategies
• Who Presents: Principal Investigator, Co-Investigators or Collaborators, Project Team Members, Institutional Representatives, Community or Stakeholder Representatives, and Advisors or Mentors (for Students)
• For Whom: Granting Organization Representatives, Review Committee or Panel, Advisory Board, Potential Collaborators or Partners, Community Stakeholders, Internal Team or Collaborators, and Public or Lay Audience (Rarely)

4. Thesis Presentations

Thesis presentations mark the culmination of academic endeavors. They involve presenting the key findings and contributions of a research project undertaken for a degree, providing an opportunity for peers and experts to evaluate the work.

• General Elements: Title Slide, Author’s Name and Affiliation, Date of the Presentation, Introduction, Background and Context, Research Objectives and Hypotheses, Methodology, Results, Discussion , Contribution to the Field, Limitations, Conclusion, Recommendations for Future Research, and References
• Who Presents: Thesis Candidate (Student), Thesis Committee, and Thesis Advisor (Supervisor)
• For Whom: Instructors and Evaluators, Peers and Classmates, Academic Community, and Reviewers

Understanding different types of presentations in conferences can empower researchers to make appropriate presentations that meets the requirement of the conference. However, to make your presentations  more interactive, here is a downloadable guide with specific tips for conference presentations .

Making each presentation type distinct involves tailoring your approach based on the purpose, audience, and format of the presentation. To maximize your conference experience, consider participating in interactive sessions and networking with the other participants . Engage with your peers, ask questions, and embrace the collaborative spirit that conferences embody.

The diverse array of conference presentations creates a vibrant tapestry of knowledge sharing. Each format offers a unique avenue for researchers and professionals to showcase their work and connect with a broader audience. So, whether you find yourself behind a podium or beside a poster board, remember that the power of conferences lies in the collective exchange of ideas, where each presenter and attendee contributes to the saga of knowledge and discovery.

Frequently Asked Questions

Creating a successful conference presentation involves careful planning, organization, and effective communication. Here are steps to guide you through the process: 1. Understand Your Audience 2. Define Your Objectives 3. Understand the conference type 4. Create a Clear Structure 5. Craft Engaging Content 6. Practice Time Management 7. Prepare for Q&A

An academic presentation is a formal communication of research findings, scholarly work, or educational content delivered to an audience within an academic or professional setting. These presentations occur in various formats, such as lectures, seminars, workshops, or conference sessions, and they serve the purpose of sharing knowledge, insights, and research outcomes with peers, students, or other members of the academic community. Academic presentations can cover a wide range of topics, including research methodologies, experimental results, literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and educational practices.

A conference presentation is a formal communication delivered at a conference, seminar, symposium, or similar academic or professional gathering. These presentations serve as a means for researchers, scholars, professionals, and experts to share their work, findings, and insights with a wider audience. Conference presentations cover a diverse range of topics, including research studies, case analyses, theoretical frameworks, and practical applications within various fields. They play a crucial role in the advancement of academic and professional fields by facilitating the exchange of ideas, fostering collaboration, and showcasing the latest research and developments in a given area of study.

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Four conference poster templates for a successful presentation

Poster sessions are the heart of scientific conferences. Here presenters meet the visitors, exchange ideas, and form new relationships. But this will happen only if the poster design attracts visitors’ attention and its content helps the author to explain the research. A good conference poster template will make your job in designing such a poster much easier.

In this article, you will find four different conference poster templates that you can download and use right away. To find out the advantages and disadvantages of each, keep reading this article. Hint: the design we have all used most of the time will be the wrong one.

After discussing the templates, I will share tools that make designing a poster more efficient and the result – better. Let’s dive in.

No.1: Traditional academic poster template

A traditional academic-style conference poster looks a lot like the one in figure below. Its sections closely resemble those of a research paper: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Conclusions, References, and Acknowledgements. The boldest authors might have swapped the section titles for something more related to their research, but this will not disguise the general characteristics of this poster layout:

• The text is copy-pasted from the paper, often resembling a research paper stuck to a board.
• The figures require squinting even in close-up, not to mention reading them while passing by.
• Every square centimeter is filled with information
• The title reflects the topic of the study and does not say anything about the results.
• It is polluted with logos – the university, conference, etc.

You probably noticed that I have a certain dislike for the traditional style poster. I will offer better conference poster designs later in this article. But first, let me acknowledge that there are some situations when this type of layout can be useful:

• The layout is benificial when leaving the poster unattended since it allows the visitor to autonomously learn about the research. Such situations include permanent exhibition of research projects in a hallway or a website of a research project.
• The traditional posters arguably have a better chance to receive the best poster award – simply because of the amount of information that can be packed within it. The judges usually award the prizes based on the depth of the content rather a than visitor-friendly design.
• The traditional style poster can serve as a great summary of your research. Printed on a conventional paper (rather than on a poster) such a One Pager provides a condensed summary of your research for those who are not interested to read an entire paper but might spend 5 minutes to go over the key points. Cases where this could be useful include handing out to potential collaborators from the industry or to stakeholders.
• Finally, sticking to the traditional layout might be a wise choice when you expect conservative academics to judge you. For example, if the professor sent you a template for a graded poster session at the end of the course, you might just do as you’r told.

In most cases, including a conference poster session where the author is required to stand next to the poster, the traditional posted design is next to useless . Instead, use one of the three conference poster templates that I offer next.

You will access these traditional academic poster templates in the download

No.2: Presenter’s poster template

In a typical academic conference, most of the text that you have pasted on the poster is pointless. It would be an extremely socially awkward situation if the visitor would spend 10 minutes reading your poster while you silently observe this process. I can assure you that after 20 seconds one of you is going to budge and start a conversation.

A conversation is the whole point of a poster session – you, the presenter, want to interact with people. And the visitors want to hear from the author. This means that you can delete most of the text because you will be there to explain it orally.

Another pitfall of the traditional posters is the sheer amount of information they hold. The visitors can’t spend 20 minutes chatting to the presenter because they also need to browse the other 150 posters.

Actually you, the presenter, are also not interested in spending a lot of time with a single visitor because other potential guests, seeing that you are busy might simply pass by. This reduces your networking opportunities. Who knows – perhaps one of the people to whom you didn’t talk had a brilliant idea for a collaboration.

So there you go – most of the time neither the presenter nor the visitor are particularly interested in chatting for more than a couple of minutes. And yet, none of them knows how to politely get out of the conversation so it drags on.

Now that we have identified the key problems with the typical academic poster, let’s take a fresh look at designing a more effective one. The figure below shows a conference poster template that I designed to help you intuitively apply the best poster design principles. Its main focus is on visual information – graphs, flow charts, and illustrations. Since this template is going to be used when the author is present to explain the content, let’s call it The Presenter’s Poster.

The template is simple enough to ensure that designing the poster will not take more of your time than creating the traditional poster.

When using the Presenter’s Poster template, focus on the most important results. If visitors want to dive into the details, hand out your full research paper or add a link on your poster for downloading it. Better yet, exchange contacts and agree to meet during the lunch break for an in-depth conversation. You can also exchange business cards and follow-up once you are back home.

Scrapping the excessive information from the poster is going to free up space on the poster. Now you can make the charts and illustrations large enough for people to see them without a magnifying glass. Not only will it facilitate discussions; larger figures are more likely to attract the interest of passers-by.

You will access these Presenter’s Poster templates in the download

A guide for poster design

My book Scientific Presentation Skills will explain what to include in each of the Presenter’s Poster sections to facilitate fruitful conversations.

No.3: #betterposter template

“So, tell me about your poster”

This is probably the most frequent opening when a visitor stops by a new poster. Mike Morrison, the originator of the #betterposter layout, thinks this alone shows the inability of the traditional poster design to convey anything meaningful about its content. If a glance at the poster would already answer this basic question, the visitor could approach the author with a more meaningful question thus making the conversation more efficient for both parties. 

A peek at the poster should also signal the passer-by if he or she is even interested in a conversation. It is not worth chatting if either side will not benefit much and there are many other posters to visit. 

The solution? Mike calls it #betterposter. See an example in the figure below.

SUPER excited to present my #BetterPoster built from the @mikemorrison concept at the @waynestate Lipids Symposium today! pic.twitter.com/TSHYkPoyjQ — Matt Kuhn, DVM, PhD (@MattKuhnDVM) May 7, 2019

You will notice that the first thing attracting attention in the design is the supersized text. This punchline is meant to summarize in plain English the take-home message of the poster. It allows the passers-by to quickly decide if they would like to get into more details. If they do, they can approach the author who then explains the research using the smaller bits of the poster. Mike Morrison puts it simply: 

A poster that successfully communicates one thing is more effective than a poster that fails to communicate a thousand things. 

When talking about the thousand things he is, of course, referring to the traditional academic poster. 

You will access these #betterposter templates in the download

Best of all, Mike has created two videos that explain the pitfalls of the traditional poster and how the #betterposter can help make poster sessions better. Grab some popcorn, they are worth watching!

No.4: Infographic style poster template

At every scientific conference, there will most probably be at least one neatly designed poster resembling the example figure below. It will immediately attract the attention of passers-by. More eyes on you promise many more fruitful conversations during the conference.

To create an infographic-style poster, you will have to come up with the design, create neat-looking graphics, care about the colors, and do many other things. This will take more work compared to the couple of hours you probably spent on creating the last poster. At the same time,  the designing of one is less demanding than you probably think.

On http://peerrecognized.com/graphics you will help you see how to find useful graphics for illustrating a poster.

It is possible to design an infographic-style poster using PowerPoint, but a more specialized app will make it easier. One such tool is Canva, so I created this poster template using it. To use the tool, you will have to create a user profile but once this is done, the free version should serve your needs well enough.

You will access these infographic style poster templates in the download

A potential drawback of an infographic-style poster is that at some point it will fail to be scientific enough. For example, if you are attending a specialist research conference in your field, the visitors might want to see detailed charts, correlations, p-values, and jargon. Replacing these with pretty images, cartoons, and infographics might fail to leave an impression of you as a serious scientist. For this reason, before creating such a poster, consider the type of audience you will encounter.

Poster design software

Now that we have reviewed four radically different poster layouts, let’s look at some tools that will help create them.

PowerPoint is the No.1 used app for designing posters. For this reason, I made most of the templates using this tool. The familiarity of the software is its main benefit, but other tools (after a learning curve) might actually make the design process more enjoyable and the result – better. Cost: yes

Adobe InDesign is the go-to app professionals use for designing posters. It offers many features that PowerPoint doesn’t, for example wrapping of text around images. These features make InDesign a powerful tool for creating professional-looking posters. Once mastered, you might use it for other science-related tasks. Cost: yes.

Publisher is Microsoft’s version of page layout design software. Due to the general familiarity with Microsoft’s products, many might find it more intuitive than InDesign. Besides, it is quite likely that you already have it installed on your PC. Cost: yes.

Canva is an online tool that offers many stylish poster templates and useful icons for creating infographics and scientific posters. Cost: There is a free version and a premium upgrade with a larger library of images. I have found that the free version is enough, especially since I most often use my own images.

Piktochart is similar to Canva as it allows creating infographics, posters, presentations, and graphics. Especially useful for social media. Cost: yes

Finding images for posters

The posters will most often hold graphics with your results, flowcharts, or images that you created. But in some cases, you might need a generic image, for example, to visually demonstrate the problem you are solving (e.g. plastics littering a sandy beach if you are researching bio-degradable plastics). The problem is, you are not allowed to simply use whatever you find online. Images are by default protected by copyright and you need permission from the author to re-use them publicly. Fortunately, many people choose to make their work shareable.

Here are some tools that allow finding images that you can reuse freely. Check the license though. Even if you are allowed to re-use them, in most cases you are obliged to give attribution to the author.

Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that enables sharing of different types of creative works that normally would be copyrighted. It also offers a search engine for searching free-to-use images. Cost: free.

Unsplash offers a selection of generic photographs that the authors have chosen to make freely available to everyone. Even attribution is not mandatory, but of course, the authors will appreciate it. Cost: free.

Creating images for posters

If you need to create your own icon or drawing, here are some tools that will help to do it.

Adobe Illustrator is the go-to software many professionals use for creating and editing vector graphics. Cost: Yes.

Inkscape is an open-source alternative to Illustrator and it can do many of the same things without breaking the bank. There is also a strong Inkscape user community for when you hit a wall. Cost: free.

Adobe Sketchbook is a free drawing software by Adobe. It is especially nice to use if you own a digital drawing pad or a tablet. I used Sketchbook for creating all the illustrations for the Peer Recognized series books. Cost: free.

Krita is an open-source alternative to Adobe Sketchbook. Cost: free.

Other useful poster design tools

Not everyone has an eye for choosing matching colors. And we don’t have to, because tools like the Adobe color wheel help to select a color palette that is pleasing to look at. Even better, its accessibility feature offers a tool for selecting colors that ensure enough contrast for the easy readability of the poster. It can also serve as a check for making sure colorblind people can easily understand your poster. Cost: free.

Both Microsoft and Apple already include grammar-checking tools which will be enough for many. But for someone like me who is not a native speaker, Grammarly can do miracles by helping to improve the readability. Best of all, you can download an add-on for Windows, Mac, or your Internet browser. Get it here: https://app.grammarly.com/apps Cost: free for the most useful features.

Prepare for presenting the poster

Designing a good poster is only one of the steps in getting ready for a conference poster session. Now you have to prepare for presenting it to your visitors. The presentation and the following conversations might help you generate new ideas, form new research partnerships, or even find friends.

My name is Martins Zaumanis and with my book Scientific Presentation Skills I will show you how to make the most out of a poster presentation using a three-step system:

• select a fitting design for the particular audience
• polish a pitch for piquing the interest of visitors
• prepare for conversations.

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Academic Conference Presentation Template

Academic Conference

Transcript: My Education Journey 1958 - Baltimore, MD. 1958 - Baltimore, Maryland Legacy History -In June of 1958 NASA was created by President Eisenhower signs the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law -Cuban revolutionaries- --- - On September 3, 1958, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. attempted to attend a hearing for fellow civil rights activist Ralph David Abernathy at the Montgomery, Alabama, courthouse, when he was violently arrested. The picture captured of arrest sparked national outrage. -On Sept. 15, 1958, a commuter train left Bay Head at 8:27 a.m., carrying dozens of people to a routine day of work in New York. It never made it, instead plowing through three stop signals and plunging off a partially open drawbridge into Newark Bay, killing 48 people aboard. Among the dead were three crew members and 45 passengers, including former Yankees second baseman George (Snuffy) Stirnweiss and then-Shrewsbury Mayor John Hawkins. - With the nation on the brink of a sweeping and active reckoning my grandfather began his first year as a history teacher, 2 years before JFK was elected president. . Legacy Legacy -A history teacher and coach for 39 years at Gilman school and orginially all white boys school located in Baltimore, MD -My Grandfather was the first to diversify Gilman hoping ot make it look more like the city it was located in, a huge step for the time (1960s) -People have often described him as tough and having high standards for his students an players but above all he cared about everyone he came across -He also worked as Senetor Sarbanes' cheif of staff so being politically active was not a choice but instead deeply ingrained in him and the way he taught -He instilled this civic duty to my mom and then to us teaching us to continue working towards a more perfect union 1987 - NYC, NY World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted 1987 - NYC, New York History History -In the Persian Gulf, a view of the guided missile frigate USS Stark listing to port after being hit by two Iraqi Exocet missiles within 30 seconds. 37 sailors were killed. Though exact details remain unclear, the Iraqi government at the time stated that the attack was in error, that the Iraqi pilot had thought the Stark was an Iranian tanker, and officially apologized to the United States. The incident took place two miles outside an exclusion zone enforced during the Iran-Iraq war. -Michael S. Swavley, vice president of marketing for Compaq Computer Corporation, introduces the new Compaq Portable III at the Mark Hellinger Theater in New York, on February 18, 1987. The Compaq Portable III, starting with a weight of 18 pounds, provides the power and function of a high performance desktop computer in a small, self-contained unit that is easy to carry -After the 'Black Monday" stock market crash of 1987, passengers on board the F train in New York read about it in newspapers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by nearly 23% in a single day, on October 19, 1987. By the end of the month, global markets had lost between 20% and 45% of their value, but gradually recovered over the next few years. -Lieutenant-Colonel Oliver North, former aide to former National Security Adviser John Poindexter, is sworn in on July 7, 1987, before the House and Senate Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, District of Columbia, on arms sales to Iran and diversion of profits to Nicaraguan Contra rebels. North testified under limited immunity. The "Irangate" saga erupted 30 November 1986 into a new crisis for the US President Reagan administration with the resignation of Admiral John Poindexter as the President's National Security Advisor and the dismissal of North, a member of the National Security Council Staff. "Ollie" North, a much-decorated Marine officer, known to White House cynics as the President's "Swashbuckler in Chief", was linked to the transfer of some $30 million profit from the Iran weapons sales to Contra rebels fighting the left-wing Sandinista government in Nicaragua. Legacy 2021 - Auburn, MA Timeline History -Joe Biden becomes the --- president and his vice president Kamala Harris becomes the first owman and perosn of color to hold the office of Vice President - A coup was staged on the United States capitol as Trump supporters tried to overthrow the election - Chauvin trial

Conference template

Transcript: Created by: Katherine Chuang Edited by: Jeff Narell (Mr.Narell) Oktapodi Movie Special Thanks to: Mr.Narell Nicola Shanks Miranda Overson Alexis Gero How do we know your character? You know me as a funny, caring, fashionable, bubbly, person. Thursday 15, 2:00 Student Lead Conference Katherine Chuang Creative Problem Solver Thinks Critically: In English I decoded a cuneiform riddle and I had to think critically. What makes you balanced and whole? I think that what makes me a balanced whole is if i can do my best at everything and try my hardest. Thank You for Watching! Thinks Creatively: In Digital Wheel I had to think creatively when I did my Oktipodi movie, I had to make noises with my mouth. Goal #1: My goal is to focus on my homework more and manage my time more efficiently, to do that I should turn off or move away anything that might distract me when I am doing my homework. Goal #2: My personal goal is to practice piano more when I am at home and when I have more free time I can read more. Goals Presents Ideas using Multiple Mediums: In English I had to participate and act out an act at the beginning of the school for English and that caused me to be an effective communicator. Effective Communicator Best Self

UoN Academic Conference Presentation

Transcript: Kylie Hazeldine Head of University Partnerships & Prof Mark Mabey Regent College Principal HND to Honours Degree: student transition to and through Background Overview of Regent College Part of a wider education group with 20 years experience of delivering education in the UK Including level 3 and Higher Education Currently have over 1500 students studying with Regent College Higher Education at our various London campuses Largest history in deliverying HND Business Delivering English Language through Wembley English academy (British Council registered) OfS registered and TEF Silver Currently delivering BA Business Entrepreneurship (Top-up) with UoN at our Harrow Campus Student Profile Student Profile 1500 students After operating Top-up's for one year 150 students have undertaken Top-up years with us (90% internal progression) Progression from Pearsons HND in Business 70% of students english is not their first language (although they have had to meet entry requirements) Average age of 35 Average distance from their studying campus 16.5 miles Our Experience So what happened? High levels of academic misconduct Concerning levels of non-submissions Student's weren't copying with the stress and pressure Lead to disengagement and attendance issues Concerning levels of fail grades or low passes Strain and concern on the partnership Key Issues First identify why it is happening HND programme Learning objective led Task orientated Pass, Merit or Distinction Pass mindset Degree Programme Independent thinker Research skills Critical thinking Academic writing Entry Requirements Programme Content 1. 3x2hrs – Academic Writing/Study Skills at level 6 • Critical thinking and academic writing. • Referencing 2. 3x2hrs – Strategic Marketing • STP • Marketing Mix 3. 3x2hrs – Strategy • The two dominant strategic framework. • Complete situational analysis of any business. 4. 3x2hrs – Contemporary Business • Business trends analysis • Overview of financial decision making Passing the programme What We Did Summary Summary Still see the impacts work through 1st intake Top-up completion 30% 2nd intake Top-up completion 60% 3rd intake due to complete in summer and on track for 80-85% completion Do not assume level 5 completion equals ready for level 6 Key success was in the introduction of interviews, the transition programme and the support given during the recruitment period Action plan commenced 6 weeks before this intake started

Lilly's conference template

Transcript: 3 Things I am good at... 3rd Quarter Conferences Handwriting Multiplication Finding common denominators Digestive system How to multiply & divide decimals Things I've learned this year... Typing We are reading a book called Secret Keepers. It is about a boy who found a watch that can turn him invisible for 15 minutes then he reappears. Turning invisible also makes him really hungry and tired. In social studies we are learning about the revolutionary war. We also planned and did a debate. Science & Social Studies Turn things in on time ELA N: plan a debate In DLI we are learning about where to put commas in sentences to still make sense. keep things organized Have a better attitude Reading Not blurt P: Not be late to class 3 Skills that will help me in middle school that I can improve on... Long Division In math we are learning how to multiply and divide fractions. We are also learning a new math curriculum which I think is boring, and I do not get the new math curriculum. Boston Tea Party -Student Led- Be more organized Things I need to work on... Math Turning things in on time Needs Improvement 3 Goals to Work Towards By Lilly Hollingsworth Not have a messy locker Estimating Fractions Exercises Self-Control *P Follows Directives & School and Classroom Rules *P Completes Quality Work *M Time Management *P Organizational Skills *N Shows Respect towards: Peers *P Adults *P Progressing Life Long Learning Skills Evaluation M: american revolution Subject Summary Meets Standard 0 + - = 9 8 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 c

Academic English Conference Presentation

Transcript: The history of scientific consciousness research. Current problems and difficulties. Future prospects. Cognitive neuroscience Linking subjective experiences to physical mechanisms = explanatory gap Scientific Consciousness Research Enquiries into the nature of human consciousness, aiming to find a scientific explanation. The science of thoughts continues to strive for answers Late 19th century. Rise of information theory Cognitive psychology great amount of research and theories Fundamental questions in science According to Revonsuo (2009): A unified research program is required, based on central theme. The study of bioelectrical activity in corticocortical and thalamocortical loops The 'easy problems' Increased understanding of the nervous system Academic English conference 13/12/2010 An ambiguous term Subjective experience as its central aspects. What is the current state of scientific consciousness research? PET, MRI, EEG... Other problems in consciousness research 17th & 18th century: Descartes: mind/body dualism. Spinoza, Leibniz and Berkely De la mettrie: materialism Kant: Consciousness not a scientific study object The study of neuropathologies The 'hard problem' The history of scientific consciousness research. Problems in consciousness research. Psychophysics A lack of unity and coherence Last 50 years Possible solution? Brain imaging techniques Improved technology required? The future? Definition of consciousness For example: Bridging the explanatory gap

Conference Template

Transcript: My reading goal is to read chapter books and understand characters. My mom and can help me by reading the words I don't understand or if I don't know how to spell the word. If I was reading a book with a word that I didn't understand what it means then Mrs.Brennan can help me look in a dictionary to see what it means. Reading l you Math Help I Might Need My math goal is to understand lines,rays,and line segments. big I can add and subtract with other methods and I can write a personal narrative and fictional narratives. When I set goals I can be a better person and I can create a way to reach that goal Accomplishments I can accomplish this goal by hanging out with my friends and family and I can also be nice and give them things and not take things Welcome to My Conference Adam bik my relationship goal is to have more friends and have a amazing family. I can accomplish this goal by reading the book and understand how they feel and see if they feel good or mad. Goals: Setting goals are important to me because... I can accomplish this goal by looking at lines,rays,and line segments and making a picture in my head to remind me of what a ray,line,and line segment is. Relationships

academic conference

Transcript: Felix Hoffmann 1925 the FDA proposes use of aspirin for reducing the risk of recurrent of MI(myocardial infarction)and preventing first MI in patients with unstable angina. 2012 ESC STEMI Guidance 2012AHA/ACCF/ACP Guidance 1897 Acetylsalicylic acid is synthesized. National center of cardiovascular disease aspirin has analgesic, antipyretic , anti-inflammatory properties because it inhibits messenger substances (prostaglandins.) reduce the risk of colon cancer Aspirin becomed powerful weapon to ease the influenza epidemic that devastated Europe, killing up to 100 million people. the best pain reliever 2012ACCF/AHA UA/NSTEMI Guidance R & D Center The classic Aspirin®, which has been supporting generations for over 100 years, is now available in a versatile form that allows it to be taken in any situation. Aspirin Effect is indicated for everyday pains: not only for headaches, but also with back and joint pain, muscle pain or fever. Wherever you are, Aspirin Effect is at your disposal when you need it. kidney damage FDA proposes the use of aspirin during a heart attack and other cardiovascular uses. 1972 Aspirin Friedrich Bayer Friedrich Weskott ( 1825-1880 ) ( 1821-1876 ) doctor & patient discovery 1990s Foundation Core Invention Drive reduce the number of cerebrovascular(brain strokes) accidents in patients taking aspirin. Let's grow up with Bayer, for the people. 2007 1980s

Academic Advising Conference

Transcript: Substance Use Disorder Criteria 1. A substance is taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than was intended 2. Persistent desire/ unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control use 3. Spending a great deal of time obtaining, using, and/or recovering from its effects 4. Craving 5. Recurrent use resulting in a failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, home 6. Continued use despite persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems caused or exacerbated by use 7. Important social, occupational, recreational activities are given up or reduced because of use 8. Recurrent use in situations where it is physically hazardous 9. Continued use despite knowledge of persistent or recurrent physical/ psychological problems likely to be caused or exacerbated by it 10. Tolerance 11. Withdrawal Students interested in growing the community Support groups on or near campus Dedicated staff Physical Space for formal meetings Physical space for hanging out Organizations, departments, services that the CRC can refer to Influential people who are great advocates Students interested in mentoring others 1:1 help for students in recovery Follow us on Instagram! UdelCRC Mood swings Anhedonia Anxiety Insomnia Sleep troubles Cognitive impairment Depression & fatigue Cravings Sensitivity to stress Questions? American Society of Addiction Medicine What is a Substance Use Disorder? What we do... Recovery is a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential. Recovery is built on access to evidence-based clinical treatment and recovery support services for all populations. SAMHSA’s Working Definition of Recovery Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Arthur Chickering's Seven Vectors of Identity Development THE 2015 Collegiate Recovery Asset Survey identified 9 critical aspects of a CRP: An online course designed to assist faculty and staff in ways to best support students who are in recovery from SUDs. Pre-test Brief online videos Post-test Certification of completion Collegiate Recovery Community at UD The CRC at UD Collegiate Recovery Developing Competence Managing Emotions Moving through autonomy toward interdependence Developing mature interpersonal relationships Establishing identity *pivotal Developing purpose Developing integrity CRBS 2018 & AlcoholEdu 2017-18 Weekly meetings Events Sober Comedian March 2019 Speakers Naloxone Trainings Advocacy Work All Recovery Yoga Mindful Mondays Reasons for Participating... 4 dimensions that support a life in recovery: 1. Health—overcoming or managing one’s disease(s) or symptoms and making informed, healthy choices that support physical and emotional well-being 2. Home—having a stable and safe place to live 3. Purpose—conducting meaningful daily activities such as getting a college degree 4. Community—having relationships and social networks that provide support, friendship, love, and hope https://www.recoveryanswers.org/recovery-101/brain-in-recovery/ Defining Recovery... AlcoholEdu 2017-18 Alexandre B. Laudet, et al (2016) In college and in recovery: Reasons for joining a Collegiate Recovery Program,Journal of American College Health (inability to feel pleasure) Primary reason for involvement was desire or need for a supportive network. More than 1/3 affirmed that they would not be in college if it were not for their CRP. 20% affirmed they would not be at their present school without the CRP. Assistant Director, Substance Use Recovery Services Student Wellness & Health Promotion (91 Collegiate Recovery Programs on 4 year campuses) DSM- 5 Find us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/UDCRC/ Percentages taken from AlcoholEdu for College 2017-18 Post-Acute Withdrawal Laudet, et al 2015 24% of incoming students know a person in long term recovery (991 out of 4191) We live in a society that welcomes alcohol use. We don't have to follow along. Instead of "Happy Hours" host "Socials" instead Be aware that not everyone drinks when giving "tickets" for a drink Don't allow alcohol in the classroom or class meetings Know the resources! Student Wellness & Health Promotion The Collegiate Recovery Community at UD Include a line on your syllabus that reads: "If you are struggling with substance use and want more information about Recovery, contact Jess Estok at [email protected]" Jessica Estok - [email protected] 302-831-3457 Recovery from drug and alcohol use is a voluntary commitment to a sober lifestyle. A person in long term recovery is actively engaged in activities that support sobriety and overall wellness. 2015 Monitoring the Future Survey - NIDA Check out our website! sites.udel.edu/collegiate-recovery 22% of students report missing class because of drinking. 18% of First Year students report missing class due to alcohol. Inclusion Collegiate Recovery Allies 2% of transfer students 5.4% of Continuing Education students (of the population that is under 26)

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Home » Campus Life » Career Education » Get Experience » Undergraduate Research » Undergraduate Scholarly Showcase » 2024 Presentations

2024 Showcase Presentations

At the 2024 Showcase, more than 350 students from more than 25 disciplines will present nearly 275 research projects, including more than 200 posters, 28 live podium presentations and 44 video presentations.

Students who choose this format present their research in an original five-minute video in one of the following categories:

• Chemical and Cellular Frontiers (#A-01 to #A-03)
• Experiential Learning (#B-01 to #B-04)
• Green Cincinnati (#C-01 to #C-18)
• Music and Culture (#D-01 to #D-04)
• Substance Use, Mental and Behavioral Heath, and Sociology (#E-01 to #E-10)
• The Social Safety Net (#F-01 to #F-05)

As individuals or small teams, students create posters that convey the purpose, process, and outcome of their project with aesthetic appeal. Each student delivers a five-minute overview of their project to reviewers in person on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.

• View or download the Morning Poster Guide
• View or download the Afternoon Poster Guide

Podium Presentations

Students individually develop and deliver an eight-minute presentation live in person on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. View podium presentation details

• Open access
• Published: 09 April 2024

Voices of conference attendees : how should future hybrid conferences be designed?

• Sai Sreenidhi Ram 1 , 2 ,
• Daniel Stricker 1 ,
• Carine Pannetier 3 ,
• Nathalie Tabin 3 ,
• Richard W Costello 4 ,
• Daiana Stolz 5 , 6 ,
• Kevin W Eva 7 &
• Sören Huwendiek 1  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  393 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

113 Accesses

1 Altmetric

Metrics details

With conference attendees having expressed preference for hybrid meeting formats (containing both in-person and virtual components), organisers are challenged to find the best combination of events for academic meetings. Better understanding what attendees prioritise in a hybrid conference should allow better planning and need fulfilment.

An online survey with closed and open-ended questions was distributed to registrants of an international virtual conference. Responses were then submitted to descriptive statistical analysis and directed content analysis.

823 surveys (Response Rate = 4.9%) were received. Of the 813 who expressed a preference, 56.9% ( N  = 463) desired hybrid conference formats in the future, 32.0% ( N  = 260) preferred in-person conferences and 11.1% ( N  = 90) preferred virtual conferences. Presuming a hybrid meeting could be adopted, 67.4% (461/684) preferred that virtual sessions take place both during the in-person conference and be spread throughout the year. To optimise in-person components of hybrid conferences, recommendations received from 503 respondents included: prioritising clinical skills sessions (26.2%, N  = 132), live international expert presentations and discussions (15.7%, N  = 79) and interaction between delegates (13.5%, N  = 68). To optimise virtual components, recommendations received from 486 respondents included: prioritising a live streaming platform with international experts’ presentations and discussions (24.3%, N  = 118), clinical case discussions (19.8%, N  = 96) and clinical update sessions (10.1%, N  = 49).

Conclusions

Attendees envision hybrid conferences in which organisers can enable the vital interaction between individuals during an in-person component (e.g., networking, viewing and improving clinical skills) while accessing virtual content at their convenience (e.g., online expert presentations with latest advancements, clinical case discussions and debates). Having accessible virtual sessions throughout the year, as well as live streaming during the in-person component of hybrid conferences, allows for opportunity to prolong learning beyond the conference days.

Peer Review reports

In-person meetings have long offered important opportunities for professional development for clinicians and academics alike by promoting research, education, and career advancement. Among other things, such events have enabled networking and the introduction of new technologies and techniques into practice [ 1 ]. Research has suggested that in-person dialogue and debate through lectures, poster sessions and roundtable discussions are keys to conference success [ 2 ]. In addition, meeting other researchers, maintaining networks [ 3 , 4 ], and discovering career opportunities [ 5 , 6 ], are all important to attendees. Further, collaborative exchange between multidisciplinary members has demonstrated positive impacts on collaborative outcomes [ 7 ]. Such activity, however, is not without cost as meetings require effort (e.g., travel to conference venues, disruption to work and personal lives, and complex logistical planning for parents or caregivers) as well as money to cover registration, airfare, mileage, accommodation, and meals [ 8 ].

Those challenges amplified in response to the pandemic, as many conferences were forced online [ 9 ], requiring organisers and delegates alike to adapt to virtual environments. Research conducted on the transition has shown that motivations for conference attendance differ between in-person and virtual conferences, demanding a re-think about delegate priorities [ 10 ]. Virtual conference experiences have generally been reported as satisfactory [ 11 ] due to their being far more accessible, inclusive, and sustainable compared to in-person formats [ 12 ]. They appear to enable new learning [ 11 ] and allow populations with fewer resources to participate, thereby supporting equity, diversity and inclusion efforts [ 12 ]. Attending from the comfort of one’s own home or office [ 6 ] fosters a comfortable environment, but creating opportunities for interacting, networking and collaborating in a virtual format is challenging as chat boxes are a pale alternative to face-to-face discussion [ 13 ]. However, overwhelming digital-meeting fatigue, impersonal interactions and challenging time zones [ 14 ] also present challenges. Furthermore, online experiences have not been able to substitute for the hands-on learning via direct interaction with senior colleagues [ 15 ]. This is particularly notable within medical skills training (e.g., surgical procedures) [ 16 ]. That said, the benefits listed along with reduction in environmental impact [ 17 ] all suggest that virtual interactions are here to stay rather than reflecting a transitory adjustment.

In compromise, as the pandemic has subsided, hybrid conferences have become more prominent [ 18 ] and pressure on organisers to maintain hybrid formats is mounting as the majority of attendees now express preference for hybrid conferences [ 19 ]. That is, it has been shown that the majority of conference delegates prefer hybrid formats [ 15 ] because such meetings combine the advantages of in-person and virtual meetings [ 20 ]. For example, in-person conferences allow better interactivity with other delegates, better networking opportunities and better concentration whereas virtual conference formats were preferred for being time saving, cheaper and safer during the pandemic while also being more globally inclusive [ 10 ]. Hence, the combination of both allows for catering to diverse attendees’ needs.

As with anything, however, there are many ways in which a seemingly straightforward idea like “hybrid conferences” can be operationalised, requiring greater clarity regarding what organisers should prioritise as they continue to seek innovative ways to strengthen learning, global accessibility, and flexibility [ 10 ]. In other words, although there is a preference for hybrid formats, it is to date unclear how to optimise hybrid conferences to meet attendees’ needs. Suggestions from recent literature include that hybrid conferences may take the form of local in-person hubs, with a small number of participants meeting in parallel with online and virtual activities that include lectures to wider audiences [ 20 ]. While social interactions are more efficient during in-person gatherings, enabling virtual interaction with a wider array of individuals is more challenging. Ideas to address this include creating opportunities for social interactions through a virtual portal in which speakers can engage in discussions with delegates [ 20 ]. How to manage such innovations in the context of large-scale conferences, however, as well as what attendees would prioritise has not yet been published.

To address this gap, we surveyed conference delegates regarding how future hybrid conferences should be designed. Our main research question was “What are conference attendees’ preferences for in-person versus virtual components of hybrid conferences?” We triangulate on this question by asking meeting attendees about their preferences both in general terms and by inquiring about what could have been improved in the context of a large-scale virtual conference. By conducting this research, we aimed to provide insights into ways to increase the overall utility of academic conferences by providing guidance regarding what should be prioritised by meeting organisers.

This study was conducted in conjunction with the second virtual European Respiratory Society (ERS) annual congress, which took place in September 2021. 16,888 international delegates registered for the meeting, which occurred face-to-face until 2019. The conference attracts individuals with an interest in respiratory medicine from a variety of disciplines and career stages, coming together to present and discuss the latest scientific and clinical advances in the field. Traditionally, the conference included expert presentations with structured sessions for knowledge, clinical skills and networking. When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, the ERS congress moved to a virtual format for its September 2020 meeting. That virtual conference included a live online streaming platform that was structured similar to news channels (i.e., attendees could stream a variety of “programmes”) that included presentations delivered by the world’s respiratory experts to enable discussion of the latest scientific and clinical advances across the field of respiratory medicine. In addition to providing knowledge updates, clinical debates and case discussions were encouraged. In addition, attendees were given the opportunity to virtually present their own local, regional and international research with experts chairing each session.

Study design

A survey was developed and distributed that was comprised of 2 parts: (1) overall motivations regarding why participants attend conferences; and (2) preferences for conference format and optimisation. The first part is largely a replication of previous work while the second is the primary focus of this study ( see Appendix 1 ). Both sections were designed using AMEE Guide No. 87 [ 21 ] with full details on how the guidelines were followed outlined in the Appendix of Ram et al. [ 19 ].

In particular, six main steps were followed. Summarised with particular attention to their relevance for this study, they consisted of the following:

(1) Literature review and alignment with previous research: Using prior research and the study results reported by Ram et al. [ 19 ], we knew that the majority of respondents would like to see hybrid conferences in the future and we were able to make adjustments to prioritise focus on what particular components of virtual and in-person conferences would be considered optimal by attendees.

(2) Interviews to understand how others conceptualise the concept: SR had previously conducted semi-structured interviews with thirteen ERS stakeholders who had extensive conference attendance experience [ 19 ]. They were asked what they believed motivates conference attendance. A theme extracted from that work pertained to convenience, so we added questions focussed on barriers to in-person attendance.

(3) Findings synthesis and (4) Question development: Our previous success with the online survey format and inclusion of both closed questions and free text questions led us to adopt a similar structure for this work. Mandatory closed questions included aspects of virtual and in-person conferences that make them successful, delegate satisfaction with a virtual conference, and format preferences. Open free-text questions were used to gain a more descriptive account of respondents’ viewpoints regarding what should be prioritised during in-person and virtual components of hybrid conferences, improvements that could be made to virtual only conferences and barriers to in-person conference attendance. Demographic variables included age, gender, country, workplace and professional role.

(5) Expert validation: ERS educational chair members were invited to review the survey and refine any items they felt required clarification.

(6) Pilot testing: Three cognitive interviews were conducted with conference attendees from various disciplines and who were at different stages of their career. This was done to check whether all the items were understandable and to assess how long the survey would take to complete online.

Data collection

SurveyMonkey ( https://www.surveymonkey.com ) was used to obtain informed consent from participants, and to execute the study. 16,888 attendees were invited to participate, via email, after the conference. Invitations included a brief description of the study, and a link to the survey with consent form included. Two reminder emails were sent over the course of a month with an incentive to win a free registration to the ERS Congress 2022. After gaining informed consent from participants, measures were taken to ensure confidentiality and anonymity of the data and by removing any identifying information from participant responses.

Data analysis

Closed questions were summarised through descriptive statistics and open free-text questions were analysed using directed content analysis [ 22 ]. The latter involved extracting keywords from the literature review that informed stage 1 of survey development. They predominantly fell into two categories: in-person attendance challenges and virtual conference challenges. Namely, for in-person attendance challenges, cost , conference registration , travel effort , language difficulties , time commitment , and accommodation were all issues that were used to define the focus of any given comment; for virtual conference challenges, internet connection , virtual networking , and time zones were known to be key issues. These served as a starting point with additional codes being added as the analytic process continued whenever a substantive issue was raised that could not be coded using one or more of these key words. That is, any text that could not be categorised with the initial coding scheme was used to develop a new code that was then added to the code book.

Chi-squared analyses were conducted to compare the distribution of responses when participants were asked to comment on in-person versus virtual components of hybrid conferences.

823 attendees (Response Rate = 4.9%) completed the survey. 40.5% ( N  = 333) reported being male, 39.9% ( N  = 329) reported being female, 0.4% ( N  = 3) preferred not to say and 19.2% ( N  = 158) did not answer. Age was normally distributed with a peak in the 41–45-years-old range ( Appendix 2 ). The modal workplace (39.3%, N  = 261) was a university hospital ( Appendix 3 ). 75.0% ( N  = 617) had attended the previous ERS virtual congress in 2020. 27.8% ( N  = 229) of participants had never attended an ERS congress (i.e., either a past in-person congress or the virtual ERS Congress in 2020).

From a total of 665 attendees who indicated their geographic location, 56.8% were from Europe ( N  = 378), 26.3% were from Asia ( N  = 175), 6.2% were from Africa ( N  = 41), 4.5% were from South America ( N  = 30), 4.2% were from North America ( N  = 28), and 2.0% were from Oceania ( N  = 13). While no demographics are available for all of the 2021 ERS congress attendees, these proportions compare well to those of a previous conference [ 19 ].

Conference preferences

Consistent with our previous work, the majority − 56.9% (463/813) - of respondents claimed they would prefer conferences to use a hybrid format in the future. 32.0% (260/813) preferred in-person meetings and 11.1% (90/813) preferred virtual formats alone. Barriers to attendance at in-person conferences were primarily cost related (reflecting 74.0% (361/488) of the reasons given for difficulty attending in-person). 21.5% (105/488) of the barriers expressed related to travel challenges (including the time required) and a small minority mentioned other things such as difficulty getting out of clinical duties and language barriers.

Optimising in-person components of hybrid conferences

503 free-text responses were received to the question: “We are thinking of moving to Hybrid conferences (combination of virtual and in-person components) for the future. What would you like to see in the in-person component?” In descending order of prevalence, 132 (26.2%) indicated a desire for clinical skills sessions, 79 (15.7%) wanted experts’ presentations and discussions, and 68 (13.5%) mentioned opportunities for interaction between all members (e.g., attendees, speakers, patients). Full details of the direct content analysis codes and their frequencies for in-person components of hybrid conferences are included in Table  1 . 21.9% of participants (180/823) selected a preference for the in-person component to be held over Friday-Saturday-Sunday , closely followed by a preference for Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday , which was chosen by 20.1% (165/823) of participants, and Thursday-Friday-Saturday , which was chosen by 19.8% (163/823) of participants.

Optimising virtual components of hybrid conferences

When respondents were asked to reflect on their preferences for the virtual components of hybrid conferences, 67.4% (461/684) indicated desiring virtual sessions both during the in-person congress and spread throughout the year. 18.0% (123/684) preferred virtual sessions only during the in-person event and 14.6% (100/684) preferred virtual sessions throughout the year rather than during the in-person event.

486 free-text responses were received to the question: “We are thinking of moving to Hybrid conferences (combination of virtual and in-person components) for the future. What would you like to see in the virtual component?” In descending order of preference, 118 (24.3%) indicated a desire for live streaming of experts’ presentations and discussions; 96 (19.8%) wanted virtual clinical case discussions; and 49 (10.1%) mentioned knowledge update sessions. Full details of the direct content analysis codes and their frequencies for virtual components of hybrid conferences are included in Table  1 .

Chi-squared analyses conducted on codes that are applicable to both in-person and virtual conference components showed that the preference for “Clinical skills sessions” was mentioned a greater proportion of the time in the context of in-person components whereas “Clinical case discussions” and “Poster and oral presentation sessions” was mentioned a greater proportion of the time in the context of virtual components of hybrid conferences.

Means of improving a large-scale virtual conference

In addition to asking attendees for their preferences for the virtual and in-person component of hybrid conferences in general terms, we also asked attendees “What improvements would you suggest for this year’s virtual congress?” as a means of understanding how to improve virtual components of conferences. 58.6% ( N  = 482) of respondents were highly satisfied (assigned 6 or 7 on a 7-point scale) with the 2021 ERS virtual congress. The factors that drove that success were dominantly “quality of speakers and presenters” (as indicated by 67.8% ( N  = 558) of respondents), the “relevance of topics/content of sessions” (65.1%; N  = 536), and “interactivity within sessions and audience participation” (38.5%; N  = 317).

361 attendees commented on improvements they would prioritise. They primarily focussed on greater interaction between members in the virtual platform (23.3%, N  = 84), technical improvements (22.4%, N  = 81) and increased variation of topics (14.4%, N  = 52). Table  2 demonstrates direct content analysis codes and their frequencies outlining ways of improving a large-scale virtual conference.

Our respondents indicated that the majority of them would prefer future meetings to take place in a hybrid format, with virtual sessions spread throughout the year in addition to during the congress itself. In doing so, they identified aspects of conferences they would prioritise for both in-person and virtual components. For in-person components of hybrid conferences, respondents recommended prioritising increasing the number of clinical skills sessions and live plenaries of experts’ presentations (e.g., latest scientific advancements, clinical debates and case discussions and, opportunities for interaction between delegates). For virtual components of hybrid conferences, respondents similarly recommended prioritising live streaming of experts’ presentations, but they also suggested increasing the overall number of clinical case discussions and facilitating opportunities for virtual discussions with experts. Suggested improvements for a large-scale virtual conference include prioritising both interaction between participants (attendees, speakers, patients) and technical improvements. Cost remains a major barrier for in-person conference attendance in addition to the challenges associated with travel.

As organisers strive to offer conferences that enable learning, global accessibility, and flexibility, the preference of candidates to have virtual components take place during the meeting and throughout the year takes on great importance. The literature, however, suggests that segregating the community of people with interest in a subject area into those who attend traditional in-person conferences and those who attend virtual meetings should be avoided, for fear of creating subgroups rather than taking proper advantage of the full community’s inherent ability to broaden the conference’s diversity and strengthen social networks [ 23 ]. This highlights a need to focus on continuing with hybrid formats with the now improved clarity of what aspects should be included in the respective in-person and virtual components.

While cost will inevitably prevent some people from attending in-person conferences [ 24 ], delegates’ desires for hybrid meetings reinforces the inequity of holding meetings that are purely in-person; incorporation of virtual components during hybrid meetings might help to enable greater interaction between those with more and those with fewer resources.

Focussing more granularly, respondents suggested that practicing live clinical skills should be prioritised for the in-person component of hybrid conferences (26.2% compared to 4.5% for the virtual component of hybrid conferences), in addition to networking. The former could include use of bronchoscopes and practice of novel surgical incisions in a simulated setting to broaden skill development. Conferences that can provide such in-person live clinical skills sessions, with experts facilitating, appear likely to attract attendees by offering direct learning they can translate back to their local setting. Recent literature suggests that more virtual reality–based technology may be used to improve the use of hands-on workshops after virtual sessions to reinforce the concepts learned in lectures and during live operative demonstrations [ 15 ]. Whether or not that can be made as effective as learning during in-person meetings remains to be seen given that face-to-face meetings allow participants additional benefits of listening to information while observing the speaker’s body language, facial expressions, and gestures (i.e., cues that are often difficult to detect virtually, but improve the ability of people to communicate effectively [ 25 ]).

That said, our findings suggest that clinical case discussions are more valued as part of the virtual component of the hybrid conferences compared to the in-person component (19.8% compared to 4.8%), thus supporting the idea that knowledge (as opposed to skill development) should be the focus when conducting virtual sessions. Consistent with that observation is that poster and oral presentation sessions were more frequently mentioned for inclusion in the virtual component of hybrid conferences. Such may be preferred by attendees in a virtual setting because they create the opportunity to present one’s findings to support continuous professional development through improving presentation skills and acquiring mandatory CPD points. They also grant the opportunity for learning from other presentations within the designated session, perhaps from the convenience of home. It is important to keep in mind, however, that previous research has reported that it should not be assumed that conference goers are a homogenous group; rather, subgroups of attendees and their different motivations for attendance likely need taken into account [ 19 ].

With respect to the large-scale nature of the conference focused upon in this study, it is noteworthy that the results show that participants envisioned the quality of speakers/presenters and relevance of topics/content of sessions to be fundamental determinants of their satisfaction with virtual conferences. Those findings are similar to those shared by Rubinger et al. [ 6 ] in their discussion of how to maximise virtual meetings and conferences following a review of conference best practices (i.e., they drew particular attention to speaker quality). Attracting high quality speakers may be more feasible in a large-scale virtual conference because conference organisers usually require a budget to cover travel costs for those who are invited to in-person conferences; the finances freed up might be used to source the best experts within a field. To ensure they meet the needs of attendees, Rubinger et al. stress the importance of ensuring that speakers have appropriate support documents and template presentations that take into account what participants should take away from the presentations [ 6 ]. Our own prior research comparing virtual conferences with past in-person conferences [ 10 ] suggested that participants would like the opportunity for knowledge gain from conferences to extend beyond that of the conference days, effectively lengthening the meeting by providing preparatory and follow-up resources. For conference organisers, pre-reading material, take-away messages in a summary document or virtual multiple-choice questions to test knowledge before and after the conference may be beneficial for attendees by lengthening the timespan in which they engage in learning.

In any case, a dominant issue for respondents in this study was the importance of greater interaction between all members in the virtual platform and the need for technical improvements. This highlights that networking is a main priority for attendees even in virtual conferences although they would prioritise in-person networking opportunities when hybrid formats are used. When conferences must be run entirely online, virtual networking opportunities may be particularly important for younger members of the community (e.g., students who may not have access to the financial means to travel to large-scale international conferences but are able to join online).

Strengths, limitations and future research

Strengths of this study include its large-scale survey design and utilising an international and multidisciplinary population that was forced to grapple with questions of conference priorities (the focus of the research) as a result of the constantly changing circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conducting this study after the second ERS virtual conference, that is, created considerable opportunity to gather experience-informed guidance for conference organisers who now need to determine how to proceed with meetings in the future. Through investigation of delegate preferences and barriers faced, we were able to identify inequities inherent in offering in-person formats alone. This information will help conference organisers increase the utility of their meetings for all attendees.

The limitations associated with our study include a low response rate (4.9%) despite the use of multiple follow-up reminders and a lottery incentive, as suggested by [ 26 ]. Concern deriving from that fact is lessened to a degree by the sample size being large and the demographics being similar to what is expected from the conference delegate population. Selection bias may still exist, however, given that, for example, respondents with greater technical prowess may have been more readily able to fill out the survey. More generally, the decision to recruit from the delegate list of a virtual meeting means that we are missing the perspectives of those who did not attend the conference because they do not value the learning/interaction that is on offer through virtual meetings. It is noteworthy, however, that only 11% of respondents expressed a preference for virtual meetings alone, suggesting that participants were not simply those who were particularly supportive of the format in which the ERS took place. Unfortunately, the conference is unable to provide demographics for the full set of delegates, making it impossible to judge the representativeness of our sample but we would note that the gender and geographic distribution are similar to that of previous years [ 19 ].

Future research should include investigation into what specific sessions attendees would like to see within in-person and virtual components of hybrid conferences (e.g., online flipped-classrooms, live simulation multi-disciplinary team sessions to tackle respiratory emergencies) as well as how structured virtual socialising is perceived by attendees and/or supervisors, experts and mentors.

Our study has given light to conference organisers regarding how future hybrid conferences might best meet the preferences and priorities of attendees. Such conferences would ideally include (a) an in-person component focussed on live clinical skills sessions and networking and (b) a virtual component with sessions, throughout the year, focussing on speakers who are experts in their field and able to deliver good online teaching and learning on a variety of topics. By targeting this balance in a hybrid conference, organisers can enable the vital interaction between individuals during the in-person component (e.g., networking, viewing and improving on clinical skills) while enabling them to access virtual content at their convenience.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the participants of this study and the European Respiratory Society ( https://www.ersnet.org ) for funding this study as part of a PhD research project.

SRs PhD is sponsored by the ERS; however, it was made sure that the study was designed and supervised by SH and KE who were all not affiliated with the ERS.

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Institute for Medical Education, Department for Assessment and Evaluation, University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, 3012, Bern, Switzerland

Sai Sreenidhi Ram, Daniel Stricker & Sören Huwendiek

Graduate School for Health Sciences (GHS), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

Sai Sreenidhi Ram

European Respiratory Society, Lausanne, Switzerland

Carine Pannetier & Nathalie Tabin

Department of Respiratory Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, Ireland

Richard W Costello

The Clinics of Respiratory Medicine and Pulmonary Cell Research, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland

Daiana Stolz

Clinic of Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Centre for Health Education Scholarship, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

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Contributions

The study was part of a PhD project and hence included the PhD candidate SR, and her supervisors SH and KE. The overall research group included members of the ERS; both within the educational council, DSto and RC and employed members of the educational event organisational team, CP and NT. The collective research team including all authors contributed to the conception, study design and refinement of survey and interview guide. SR conducted all interviews with NT and CP supporting the distribution of the survey and data anonymisation. Data analysis and interpretation was conducted by SR and SH with additional interpretation support from KE. SR, SH and KE drafted the preliminary article with RC, DSto, DStr, CP and NT contributing critical revisions. All authors approved the version to be published and were in agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

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Correspondence to Sai Sreenidhi Ram .

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SRs PhD is sponsored by the ERS. No other authors have no competing interests.

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The study was deemed exempt from ethical review after application to the Regional Ethics Committee of the Canton of Bern (member of the Swiss Association of Research Ethics Committees, Switzerland) BASEC-Nr: Req-2021-00833 (Acquired: 22/07/2021). To gain informed consent, all attendees of the ERS Congress 2021 were e-mailed with a brief description of the study which contained a link to the survey. It was explicitly stated that by filling in the survey, participants were providing consent for their answers to be used as part of a PhD research project. Measures were taken to ensure confidentiality and anonymity of all data by removing any identifying information from participant responses.

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Ram, S.S., Stricker, D., Pannetier, C. et al. Voices of conference attendees : how should future hybrid conferences be designed?. BMC Med Educ 24 , 393 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05351-z

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05351-z

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