Poster Guidelines

Perccom students from the cohort 5 will display their posters permanently in the Piano Galleria Hall from Monday to Friday. Please note that posters must be secured with tape (which will be provided). Poster presents are asked to be near their posters during the coffee breaks. Each poster presenter will be given 5 minutes on friday 15.6 13:00-14:30 at room 7332.1-2 to give a quick recap about his/her work (We advise to all cohort 5 students to merge their slides into a joint presentation so that this time is used efficiently).

The aim of every single way you present your work is to connect with people who can help you improve your work and might be interested to build on what you do – and, with luck, to work with you in future. At the master stage of your career, this can mean showcasing your work (and yourself) to people with potential opportunities, internships, work on funded projects, or academic employment.

Templates:

You can find the a poster template for this summer school at poster_template.pptx

Note: This template can be changed. The main thing to keep are the logos (LUT, Perccom and your thesis host university). This file only helps you with the size for the poster.

Printing your poster

Remember that your poster size should be A0.

If you want to print your poster in Lappeenranta. You may wanna contact Grano Oy hanne.kuusisto@grano.fi (The costs of the poster are your responsability)

Note: Make sure to ask Grano if they can deliver your posters to LUT directly.

Another place in Lappeenranta is Kopio-Niini marika.kurki@kopioniini.fi

Important Notes:

Audiovisual and computing equipment will not be supplied.

Power outlets will not be available unless requested a week in advance.

Poster presenters are kindly asked to not bring any bulky items that may impede the flow of traffic. The participants may include QR codes in the poster to link to supplementary material online (such as videos or interactive prototypes).

Poster presenters wishing to hang flyers, business cards, or other handouts to the poster are welcome to do so, but they must bring their own supplies (e.g. envelopes, paper clips) to hang these materials to the poster.

Please note that tape cannot be used to secure anything to the poster board (only tacks can be used for this).

Tips:

- Preparing a poster:

A poster is not a paper, and you shouldn’t try to shove everything onto it, to distil months of work onto one sheet. Rather, you should focus on a single “big idea” – this can be the backbone of your work; a neat result you’ve had; unpacking a core concept; a breakthrough; presenting an issue you’re investigating – whatever is significant and current in your work.

A poster is a visual medium, it shouldn’t be a paper tacked onto a poster board. You shouldn’t even think of it as having the same structure as a paper (introduction … methodology … results … further work). Rather, you should use “visual grammar” to make it easy for people to follow.Kathyrn Tosney’s Creating Effective Posters is a useful resource here.

A poster needs backup, so make sure you have handouts with more detail (which may be copies of other papers you’ve written) for those who are interested in your work. Make sure you have business cards for people who want to keep in touch with you, but don’t necessarily want a paper.

- Practicing for presentation:

Making the physical poster is only part of preparing for a poster session. You MUST also practice. Interacting with the audience demands thinking on your feet, applying your social skills, and drawing on short, concise explanations without fumbling or mumbling.

Practice 2 and 5-minute versions of your poster presentation.

Make sure you can sum up your poster’s key points and conclusions in 2-3 sentences.

Think about which parts of your poster will be the most challenging to explain.

Anticipate people’s questions and how you will answer them.

- Poster presentation:

Greet people with a smile and show your enthusiasm for your work.

Find out why they are interested in your poster before you launch into your packaged talk, so you are able to address their interests and expectations.

Do not stand in front of your poster where you might block people’s view. Stand to the side or turn sideways at the side of the poster without blocking the adjacent poster.

Maintain eye contact with people as you present your poster. Do not read directly from your poster or from a prepared script. Reading signals “lack of knowledge” to the audience.

Use hand gestures to illustrate and reinforce key concepts and relationships. As you talk through your poster, use a pointer or your hands to refer to particular parts of the poster so that people can follow your talk. Do not put your hands in your pockets or behind your back.

Spend extra time explaining any figures or tables on your poster.

Summarize each section of the poster before moving on to the next section. For example, “Now that I’ve described the need to xxx, I'd like to explain the materials we developed to address it.”

If people approach your poster after you have begun your talk, pause to welcome them and identify where you are, “Hi, I’m in the middle of explaining the methods we used to characterize the xxx learners.”

Check your audience’s understanding of the more complex concepts presented in your poster by paying attention to non-verbal cues or by asking them whether you have been clear or should go into a little more detail. Do not ask whether they understand what you've said For example, say, “Should I say a little more about how we analysed the data?” “Have I been complete enough?” or “Would you like me to go over any of the parts again?” Do not say “Do you understand how this works?” or “Do you get this?” Such questions seem to blame the audience and designed to reveal their ignorance.

Maintain your professionalism. Thank people for listening and talking with you about your project. (“Thanks for stopping to talk with me”). Make your comment show you were listening to them, not just talking at them (“Thanks for your feedback on grounded theory”). Don't use a cliché such as “thank you for your time,” and don't apologize, either: remember that the people attending the poster session may be future your employers or research collaborators.