Notes for Conference Poster Presenters

Congratulations on being selected by the EECERA Conference Scientific Committee as a Poster Presenter.

These suggestions are meant to be a helpful guide.  They are based on feedback about successful presentations at recent EECERA Conferences.   All poster presenters receive these notes and they will, we hope, give reassurance to those who may not have presented in this way before at EECERA. We also want to explain the Committee’s aims and objectives.

Poster Presentations are increasingly popular at EECERA Conferences.  Poster Presenters have an opportunity to have a relaxed dialogue about their work with other delegates who express an interest. Usually a space will be reserved for you in a public area where you can put up your poster and leave it even when you are not there so passersby can read it.  In addition, there will be specific times when the Conference Programme dictates that you must be at the poster ready to dialogue with your audience and readers. This means your poster must communicate whether you are there or not.

Poster sessions allow the Conference organisers to maximise the opportunities for those who have something important to say, wish to stimulate debate and make contacts.  The Conference should be seen as a chance to present the essentials of your work to an international audience of colleagues working in the same field, to get critical feedback on your ideas and to network with people who share your interests.  We do hope that your presentation will give rise to further discussion outside the symposium and perhaps future collaborations.  These websites might be useful for ideas:

http://lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/dept/tips/present/posters.htm
http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/posterpres.html
http://www.posterpresentations.com/html/free_poster_templates.html

After your programmed session you should ensure that all your materials are removed.  A vertical surface of 1 square metre is available.  You should respect the nature of this surface and ensure it is not damaged or spoiled.  It will therefore be necessary to bring pins, clips or non-permanent adhesive, such as ‘Blu-tac’, which leave no mark on removal.

Be sensitive to the fact that your audience is international.  You may need to explain your national context and you should make your poster interesting and not just text.  Many delegates will be talking and listening in a language which is not their own, so visual images are helpful. In keeping with the inclusionary aims of EECERA, Conference participants come from a wide range of professional backgrounds and disciplines, so be conscious of your audience.

1. The Preparatory Survey
 
We would recommend that you have a brief survey of your space well before the interaction session, if possible, on the previous day.

Check the layout of the room, the availability of any equipment that you need and the location of electricity sockets.  You should have notified the Conference Team by early Summer of your resourcing needs. Not all poster sites will have access to electrical sockets.

2.  During the Session

Begin on time.  Introduce yourself and have some contact cards available.  Try to make a balance between giving a presentation and having a dialogue. This will vary according to the number of delegates expressing an interest but be prepared to listen as well as to inform.

Requests from your audience for copies about your work are your responsibility.  You should bring sufficient for delegates who want a copy.  Alternatively, you can ask delegates who want copies to leave their name and email address on a sheet and email them after the Conference.

3. After the Session

Respond to delegates who may wish to make further contact with you. You can use the twitter site on the Conference webpage.

Make sure the area is left tidy and ready for the next session.  Remove all material and return equipment.

If you wish to submit a full paper to the EECER Journal, which is now included in the prestigious Institute for Science Information (ISI) Social Sciences Citation Index (R) you can do so on line at:
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/1350293X.asp.

If your paper is successful in going through the Editorial Board’s formal peer review process, it will be accepted for the Journal. Presentation at Conference is no guarantee of that happening.  An abstract of your poster will be published in the Conference Proceedings Programme, and will also be published on-line in a searchable archive of Conference Proceedings on the EECERA website. 

Enjoy your poster presentation and thank you for sharing your work.  We hope you have a fruitful and pleasurable Conference.  We would value your evaluative feedback after the Conference, so that we can continue to respond to delegates needs.