2021 Virtual Poster Competition
Competitors Guide
Deadlines: Abstracts, posters, and videos will not be accepted after the due date and time specified below.
Applications Open: Monday, January 18, 2021
Abstracts Due: Friday, February 19th no later than 5:00 p.m.
Abstract Acceptance Notifications: Tuesday, February 23rd by 5:00 p.m. Competition Videos and Posters Due: Sunday, March 7, 2021 by 11:59 p.m.
2021 Virtual Poster Competition: Thursday, March 11, 2021 (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.) Poster Competition Results Announced: Friday, March 12, 2021 (12:00 p.m.)
Virtual Competition Overview:
The 2021 Poster Competition will be held virtually. Competitors will submit a video that does not exceed 5 minutes on their research poster for the competition. The video will be displayed in a Zoom breakout room during the competition which will be held on Thursday, March 11, 2021, from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Judges will score the videos electronically and there will be a brief question and answer period in each breakout room after all videos have been displayed.
Competitors are highly encouraged to attend the competition to answer questions related to their research but are not required to attend.
Eligibility:
The competition is open to current Texas Tech graduate students and postdocs. Participating competitors will demonstrate their engagement in high-quality research with an ability to present this research professionally and effectively to a non-specialized audience. Additional eligibility requirements are listed below.
Must be a current Texas Tech graduate student (including students in distance programs) or Post Doc.
Posters based on any basic or applied research conducted by the graduate student/Post-Doc as part of his/her graduate education.
Poster presentation may contain information that has been presented at other regional or national meetings.
Only 1 poster/abstract is permitted for each student/Post-Doc. Application Instructions:
2. Enter your personal information. Please note that your name, academic program, and academic college will be displayed in the event program as entered on your application. 3. Enter your abstract according to the specifications listed in the competitor's guide. Your
abstract will appear in the event program as entered on your application. 4. Submit your abstract by Friday, February 19, 2021, no later than 5:00 p.m.
5. All students will be notified if their abstract was accepted on Tuesday, February 23rd by
5:00 p.m.
6. If your abstract was accepted, record your competition video and submit your completed poster to [email protected] by Sunday, March 7, 2021 by 11:59 p.m.
Abstract Guidelines:
Abstracts are limited to 250 words and should contain a brief description of the research. Abstracts should be written for a non-specialized audience due to the interdisciplinary nature of the competition. Abstracts are due Friday, February 19, 2021 by 5:00 p.m. Entries submitted after 5:00 p.m. on the due date will not be accepted.
Poster Guidelines:
General guidelines for posters can be found below. Please note that because the competition is virtual, the Graduate School will not be printing and will not require any printed posters for this competition. We recommend saving your poster as a PDF for the application and as a
PowerPoint for the video presentation. Poster Development
Is your poster written with a lay, non-specialist audience in mind?
Is there enough background/contextual information for a non-specialist to understand your work and its significance?
Did you discuss the implications of your research for your field and the community at large?
Proofing
Did you proofread your poster, including the headings?
Note: MS Word’s spell-check does not check any text that is in all caps, so you must do it yourself.
Are all the special symbols, tables, and mathematical equations correctly displayed? Are images properly embedded (not covering up text)?
Is your name (and the names of any co-authors) listed? Is your program listed?
Did you include your title? Specifications
Is the document orientation for your poster set to “landscape”? Is your poster the correct size (36” X 48”)?
Is your file saved as a .pdf file? Poster Example
Texas Tech logo for the header can be downloaded below.
Video Guidelines/Instructions:
1. Open your poster competition slide presentation in PowerPoint. 2. Minimize the screen, but do not exit.
3. Open your computer’s Zoom application. 4. Select the “New Meeting Icon.”
5. On the bottom of the screen locate and press the green “Share Screen” icon.
6. Select the PowerPoint tab to display your presentation.
7. Make sure PowerPoint is highlighted in blue on your Zoom screen.
8. Press the blue “Share” button on the bottom right corner of the Zoom screen.
9. Please make sure your PowerPoint presentation is maximized to full screen for better viewing.
10. On the top Icon Menu press “More” and select “Record.”
11. A green and red bar should appear on your screen. To ensure proper setup, your poster needs to maximized on the screen and a live video of you should appear on the top right-hand corner of the screen as shown below. For the video recording, the judges will need
to see your poster and your presentation simultaneously. If your video covers a portion of the header, that is not a problem. We recommend you record your presentation from a seated position in front of your computer/laptop, from the shoulders up.
12. When completed, press “End Meeting.”
13. After the meeting has ended, the screen below should pop up.
14. Once the downloading is complete, rename the video as shown above with your first and last name (ex: PC-JohnSmith).
15. Attach video and PDF of poster to an email and send to [email protected] with the subject as PC-FirstLast.
Maximized poster image on
screen.
Video of you presenting.
Additional Notes
You are welcome to use the video recording program of your choice. We do ask that you ensure that your video is formatted correctly and includes a maximized image of your poster and a live video of you presenting in the top right-hand corner of the screen. Abstracts, posters, and videos will not be accepted after the deadline. The submission of
these items is time sensitive. The production of the event program, judges' rubrics, and testing of competition videos across multiple platforms depend on items being submitted by the deadline.
