Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium (BigSURS)

The BigSURS organizing committee congratulates you on your acceptance to present at this undergraduate research symposium.

Purpose of the BigSURS is to:
• Provide a low cost opportunity for students to present their scholarship to audiences in academic communities outside of their own institutions, especially when NCUR is held in a distant location.
• Promote interactions among students in the Big South Athletic Conference and other schools within the states that contain Big South institutions.
• Promote an understanding and appreciation for different disciplines among the students attending the BigSURS.

To accomplish these goals the BigSURS advisory committee strongly suggests the following Etiquette Guidelines for students and faculty attending the BigSURS.

General
• Students attending the conference are expected to go to the key note address.
• Students attending the conference are encouraged to participate in the entire conference.

Oral Presentations
• Students should arrive at least 10 minutes before the start of the session they are scheduled to present in.
• Student presenters are expected to attend the entire session they present in.
• If they are unable to make their presentation, they should contact the host institution meeting organizers before the start of the session.

Poster Presentations
• Poster presenters are expected to participate in the entire poster session. When they are not at their posters student presenters should view other posters and interact with the other presenters.

Presentation Guidelines

Oral Presentation Guidance

Length of Your Oral Presentation:
You will have 15 minutes for your oral presentation and a couple of minutes for questions and answers at the end of your presentation.  This schedule will be strictly enforced. Practice before you give the talk, and be prepared to cut out ideas to make the talk fit.  Never solve the time problem by simply talking faster!  A moderator in each room will ensure your talk does not go over; if you wish you may see him/her before your session begins to ask for a "two minutes left" warning.

Technology Resources:  A/V Aides and Title Slide:
Each room will have a computer running PowerPoint connected to a projector.  We ask that even if you do not plan to use any A/V aides in your talk that you still create a title page that is displayed during your presentation.  Sometimes visitors who are circulating during the symposium may drop into your talk midway through and will appreciate your having a title slide.

Oral presentations are held in technology classrooms, which contain:

Windows computer with:

• Windows 7
• Microsoft Office 2010:  Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• QuickTime
• Windows Media Player
• Projector and a large screen

Presenters must use the Windows computer provided.

Presenters must bring any digital presentations materials on a USB flash drive and/or a CD/DVD.   No other documents should be on the flash drive and/or CD/DVD.

We strongly recommend that presenters bring a backup of their digital presentation materials on a second USB flash drive or CD/DVD in case their primary digital memory device does not work.

The recommended format for presentations is Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 (.pptx), although files saved in older versions of PowerPoint should be compatible.

There will be a testing room located in each building for presenters to test their files on a comparable computer.

If there are any technical difficulties during the presentation, please inform the moderator, who will contact the technical support team.

Presenters should arrive at their classroom 10 minutes prior to the start of each session to ensure that their USB flash drive and/or CD/DVD opens properly on the Windows computer provided.

Poster Presentation Guidelines

Each poster presentation is divided into two time slots (even # poster boards and odd # poster boards). When you arrive at the poster display area you will be instructed to hang your poster on a specific board that will be labeled with a number in the upper left hand corner of the board. Posters should be hung at least ½ hour before the poster session and remain until the end of that day’s events.

Students should stand by their boards during the designated time slots (i.e. odd numbered poster boards will display during the first time slots and even number poster boards will display during the second time slots). When they are not at their posters student presenters should view other posters and interact with the other presenters.

The posters will be displayed on free standing boards (cubicle dividers) that can accommodate two posters of 48” in width (1 poster on each side). Long push pins will be provided for you to attach your poster to the board. Do not bring or use Velcro.

Poster format, Set-up, and Presentation:
• Carefully and completely prepare your poster in advance of the conference.
• Do not mail your poster in advance: you must bring it to BigSURS2012 yourself.
• Posters should be 36 inches x 48 inches to fit on the display panels.
• The title of your poster should appear at the top in large letters.  Please limit your poster title length.  Poster titles using a font size of 60 point will stand out and be easy to read.  The minimum font size for poster titles should be 36 point.  Below the title put the name(s) of the student author(s), faculty sponsor, and school or institution.
• The suggested flow of your poster should be from the top left to the bottom right.
• You may wish to use color for highlighting and to make your poster more attractive.  Use pictures, diagrams, cartoons, figures, etc., rather than text wherever possible.
• Try to state your main result in large lettering.  This way people can read the poster from a distance.
• People will not read a lot of text, and certainly won't read typewriter-sized text.  The smallest text on your poster should be at least 18 point, and the important points should be in a larger size.
• Make your poster as self-explanatory as possible.  This will save your efforts for technical discussions.
• They may not include exhibits of models, devices, or computer programs.
• Your poster should cover the key points of your work.  It need not attempt to include all the details; you can describe them to people who are interested.  The ideal poster is designed to attract attention, provide a brief overview of your work, and initiate discussion.

BigSURS reserves the right to cancel a presenter's poster session if the above requirements are not met.