Information for Participants

NDSU EXPLORE Showcase

If you are an undergraduate student interested in presenting your research or creative work at the NDSU EXPLORE showcase, please review the information below.

Guidelines and Expectations
Eligibility
Schedule
Project Types
Abstracts
Awards
Evaluation
Register

Participant Registration Opens Tuesday, January 16, 2024.
Participant Registration closes Monday, March 18, 2024.

Guidelines and Expectations

All communications regarding this event will be made through the official NDSU email system (using your ndsu.edu email address).

By completing the registration process for Student Research Days, you authorize the publication of your first and last name with your abstract.

The Student Research Days event will be open to the public. Please ensure that any materials presented can be released publicly.

If you have questions, please contact kirstin.saulsbury@ndsu.edu.

Eligibility

All NDSU undergraduate students in all fields of study are eligible to participate.

We encourage both poster and oral presentations from students at all levels. Eligible projects can be completed works or can be works-in-progress. If the project is a work-in-progress, the presenter should include information about planned next steps and goals for the project in their presentation.

Projects generated collaboratively by student groups are eligible.

Groups are limited to four participants.
Each group member must register individually.
Only one abstract submission is needed from a group.

Projects or papers utilizing human or animal research subjects must have approval from the appropriate compliance committees.

Note: each student can only participate in one of the Student Research Day events.

If you have questions regarding eligibility, please contact kirstin.saulsbury@ndsu.edu.

Schedule

Project Types

Poster Presentations:

As a presenter during a poster session, you will stand by your poster for the duration of the session and respond to questions from an audience that moves throughout the room, visiting the various posters. Most interactions with audience members are around 5 minutes.

Please create your poster according to content conventions in your discipline. Your project mentor or class instructor should be able to advise you on this topic.
Poster size should not exceed 3' x 4' (36 inches x 48 inches).
Display equipment in the form of flex screens and pins will be provided. If your project has other set-up needs, please contact ndsu.researchdev@ndsu.edu
Resources for developing effective posters >>
Design and Sign provides large format printing for academic posters.

Oral Presentations:

As a presenter during an oral presentation session, you will stand in the front of a small room and present your project or paper directly to a seated audience. The audience generally remains in the room for the entire session.

Presentations will be limited to 8 minutes in length, followed by approximately 2 minutes for questions.
- Timecards will be shown to you during your presentation to remind you of the remaining time.
- Extended time can be requested, but we may not be able to accommodate all such requests.
Slides or other visual aids are not required, but computers, internet, and projectors will be available in each of the oral presentation rooms to accommodate the use of presentation aids (such as PowerPoint).
- If you choose to use slides, you will need to bring your presentation with you to your session on a USB flash drive or other portable storage device.
Resources for developing effective presentations >>

Abstract

An abstract is required for each project.

Abstracts should include the following information:

Final project title
Presenter Name
Faculty Mentor Name and Department
Concise Summary of your project, no more than 350 words.

Abstracts must be submitted in Microsoft Word. Please be certain that you use correct grammar and spelling as your information will appear in the abstract book as submitted.

Abstracts are due on March 18, 2024 and should be emailed as a Microsoft Word document tokirstin.saulsbury@ndsu.edu. Abstracts should provide a concise summary of your project. Abstracts commonly include the following components:

Motivation or Statement of Problem: Why do we care about the problem? What practical, theoretical, scientific, or artistic gap is your project filling?
Methods or Approach: What did you actually do to get your results? Did you approach your subject using a specific theoretical framework, technical procedure, or methodology?
Results or Product (either actual or expected, depending on where you are in the process): As a result of completing the procedure or investigation, what did you learn, create, or invent? (Or what do you expect to learn, create, or invent upon completion?)
Conclusions or Implications: What are the larger implications of your findings, especially for the problem or gap identified in step one?

Awards

Poster Session Awards

First Place - $300
Second Place - $200
Third Place - $100

Oral Presentation Awards

The number of oral presentation awards will depend on the number of participants in this category. At minimum, one (1^st place/$300) award will be given. If more than one award is given, the award amounts will be as follows:

First Place - $300
Second Place - $200
Third Place - $100

Evaluation

Projects will be evaluated based on content, presentation, and any supporting documentation or visual aids (i.e., posters or a slide deck). Criteria that will be considered when judging presentations can be viewed here.

If you have questions, contact kirstin.saulsbury@ndsu.edu.

Ready to Register?

Note: each student can only participate in one of the Student Research Day events.
Make sure you have the following information before registering:

Contact information (for you and your faculty mentor)
Title of your presentation / project
Type of presentation (oral / poster)
Abstract (to be emailed by the deadline)

Research and Creative Activity