Poster Competition Guidelines

Each institution is allowed to submit up to 6 posters.

Poster Registration Forms must be submitted online by 4pm on February 8, 2013. Registrations will not be accepted after the deadline.

The following guidelines have been developed to assist you in the planning and development of your student presentations for the poster competition.Failure to adhere to the guidelines will be reflected in the scoring of the poster in the competition. PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES CAREFULLY AND SHARE WITH YOUR STUDENT PRESENTERS.

ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM:

• Posters are to be registered by CSTEP staff prior to 4pm on the deadline date (2/8/13) using the link below. STUDENTS DO NOT SUBMIT POSTERS ONLINE. This is a staff responsibility.
  
  
• The information submitted will be used to maintain contact with poster presenters through their CSTEP staff. Confirmation emails will be sent to the CSTEP program staff person listed as the contact person on the registration form. It is the responsibility of the CSTEP staff to pass information along to their student presenters.
  
  
• Staff must complete one registration per poster. For posters with multiple presenters, up to three total presenters can be entered per poster.
  
  
• Please copy-paste the following link into your browser to complete the registration form:
  
  http://bit.ly/CSTEPPosterRegistration2013
  
  
• For questions, please email Sean Partridge, Poster Committee Chair (partrisc@potsdam.edu)

POSTER REQUIREMENTS:

• Posters can be no larger than 36 x 48 inches and are to be displayed on a tri-fold display board. Each participant must provide his/her own tri-fold poster backing. No poster backing will be provided on site and we are not allowed to hang posters on the walls. Presenters should also provide their own means for attaching their poster to the display board (e.g. tape, binder clips, push pins, etc). The conference will not provide any of these materials.
  
  
• Students are allowed to present (or co-present) one poster and are responsible for additional equipment (e.g. extension cords, laptops, handouts, props, etc.).
  
  
• All posters must be accompanied by at least one presenter at the conference. Posters without a presenter in attendance will not be presented or judged and will be disqualified.

ABSTRACT GUIDELINES:

• The abstract should be submitted in the appropriate section of the online submission form. CSTEP staff are expected to assist students to ensure that abstracts are of high quality and meet the requirements listed in the poster rubric.
  
  
• Copy-paste the body of your abstract into the text box provided on the submission website. Do not include heading information in the text box. That information will be entered separately. Abstracts may not to exceed 250 words. The text submitted online will be used to print the abstracts in the conference booklet. Any typos submitted will end up in the booklet. Please proofread abstracts before submitting.

CATEGORY OF PRESENTATION/ABSTRACT:
When registering a poster online, staff will be asked to select one of the following categories for presentation. These will help the committee assign judges with appropriate expertise.

*Categories may be combined or sub-divided based on the number of entries received.

JUDGING AND THE POSTER PRESENTATION SESSION:
A team of two judges will be assigned for each poster by category. Each poster will be scored based on the poster rubric included in this packet. Additional suggestions are included below.

• All poster presenters must attend a 9:30pm meeting on Friday, April 12. This meeting will provide information about the Saturday poster session. Failure to attend may result in disqualification of posters.
  
  
• Presenters should dress professionally. Keep in mind that you’ll be on your feet for 3½ hours.
  
  
• Presenters must be on time to set up posters and must remain with their poster throughout the judging session. Once the judging session is completed, presenters may leave their poster to examine other posters during the open session.
  
  
• Each presenter will be given 5 minutes to orally summarize their poster for the judges. It is likely that the judges will have questions for each presenter. Presenters are encouraged to practice their oral presentation prior to the conference.
  
  
• Posters must not be removed from the hall until the conclusion of the open session. Presenters are required to remove their poster, backing, and any other materials at the close of the session (tacks, clips, handouts, etc).

A NOTE FOR STAFF:
After the submission deadline, the conference poster committee will assess the level of participation in the competition and determine if additional posters will be accepted based on space available. If your institution has more than 6 students interested in presenting posters, please keep a waiting list and collect abstracts and registration from these additional students. If additional abstracts are accepted, the turnaround for submission will be very short and staff will need to be ready to submit quickly.

Submission Deadline: February 08, 2013