Hi there!
There’s just over a week to go until this spring’s Research and Project Showcase (RAPS). Next Friday, April 11th, more than 550 students will be sharing nearly 230 presentations with the Clarkson community, highlighting the best that Clarkson’s research and innovation ecosystem has to offer. As you plan ahead for the day’s events, here’s everything you’ll want to know.
First things first, this is our strongest RAPS ever! We couldn’t be more excited to see all of your research and projects on display – to accommodate the immense increase in submissions (a good problem to have), we’ve had to make a few small changes to the showcase’s schedule. All Graduate Oral Presentations will now occur from 12 to 2 PM, while the Alumni Panel and Awards Ceremony will now start at 3:30 PM and 4:30 PM, respectively. The full showcase agenda can be found here, with a detailed timeline below:
Timeline
8:15 – 9:15 AM: Check-in at the registration desk on the 1st floor of the ERC (and start setting up your poster presentation if applicable). A light breakfast will be served in the Student Center Forum.
9:15 – 9:30 AM: Clarkson’s 19th President, Dr. Michelle B. Larson, will share some encouraging words of advice in the Student Center Forum, followed by an event overview from Ashley Sweeney, the Director of Clarkson Ignite.
9:30 – 10 AM: Sit in on the Faculty and Research Project Showcase in the Student Center Forum, where some of Clarkson’s most distinguished researchers and innovators will take part in a Pitch-Off competition akin to that in the afternoon.
10 AM – 12 PM: The morning presentation session, when all Undergraduate Oral, Undergraduate Poster, and Graduate Poster presentations will be scored by judges and viewed by visitors, in the ERC and different locations across campus.
12 – 2 PM: The afternoon presentation session, exclusively for all Graduate Oral and STEM QuESTS presentations, in different locations across campus.
12 – 12:15 PM: “Songs to Celebrate Spring at Clarkson”, presented by students from Danny Dullea’s COMM 217 course in the Student Center forum.
12:30 – 1 PM: Two very special Faculty Awards will be presented in the ERC: the Clarkson Excellence in Research and Scholarship Award, and the Clarkson Distinction in Faculty Mentoring in Research and Scholarship Award.
1:00 – 3:30 PM: The Pitch-Off competition in the ERC! To keep the contest intense, participating presentations will be announced in real-time as the Pitch-Off progresses. Graduate Oral presentations will go last because of the afternoon presentation session’s timing.
3:30 – 4:30 PM: A special panel on Agile Leadership from some of Clarkson’s most notable alumni, held in the ERC.
4:30 PM: The awards ceremony in the ERC, where all of the top scorers and special prize winners will be announced. Additional Faculty Awards will be presented here.
Other Key Details
Presentation Categories: Each of the nearly 230 presentations has been assigned to one of 40 distinct categories, which can be found at these links: Undergrad Poster, Undergrad Oral, Grad Poster, Grad Oral (all are featured on Moodle).
Presentation Locations: While all poster presentations will be set up on the 1st and 2nd floors of the ERC, the oral presentations are spread across campus. The documents linked just above list where you’ll be situated!
Poster Presentation Specifics: If you requested a poster easel, you’ll be provided with the easel, a 3 x 4 ft foam board, and the clips to place your poster on the foam board. If you instead requested a waist-high table, you’ll have just that to display whichever props and items you’d like.
Poster Printing Options: Your best bet for printing your poster will be at either the UPS Store in Potsdam or the internal OIT printer in CAMP. The Makers’ Loft also has a color printer, but it only prints up to 3 x 2 ft in size. As Ignite isn’t printing any posters directly, there’s no need to submit them to anyone – just bring them on the day of!
Oral Presentation Specifics: Regardless of location, all oral presentations will have 10 minutes to present and 5 minutes for a Q&A with the judge, with a screen available for use while presenting your slide deck. A timekeeper will be in each room to ensure the limits aren’t exceeded – if they stop you mid-presentation, it’s only to keep things fair!
Oral Slide Deck Submission: By the end of the day on Tuesday (the 8th), please submit a link to your oral presentation’s slide deck using this Google Form. The format can be PowerPoint, Canva, Google Slides, or whatever else that works best.
Photos: Don’t be afraid to take a few pictures throughout the day’s events! Once all’s said and done, we’d love to hear what you thought on social media – a photo or two would be nice to see as well. And definitely don’t forget to tag Ignite in your posts on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
Dress Code: Be sure to come dressed for the occasion in business casual or business professional attire. With cameras rolling and excitement in the air, you’ll never know when you might have to step into the spotlight – if you do, it’ll be important for you to look your best!
Questions You Might Have
What’s the deal with the presentation numbers?
Presentation numbers are the way judges will tell your presentation apart from others. If you’re giving a poster presentation, a small piece of paper with your number will be found at your assigned spot. If you’re giving an oral presentation, be sure to have the number handy so the judges can know when the time comes.
Why are the Graduate Oral Presentations later than all of the rest?
With such a large pool of participants, we had to push one group of presentations to later on in the day. Have no fear, though, as all Graduate Oral Presentations will have a fair chance of advancing to the Pitch-Off.
What do I need to prepare or bring for the Pitch-Off?
The Pitch-Off is a no-slide deck affair – your team will have three minutes to present the highlights of your work to the judges and audience, and not a second longer! In the leadup to RAPS, think about how you can best describe your presentation to someone who might not know much about it.
I’m not participating in RAPS. Can I still see what it entails?
Absolutely! All are welcome to stop by, view presentations, and have fun throughout the day. The more the merrier.
What’s the most important thing I should do right now?
Read this email carefully, and probably a few times over! If anything about your presentation seems odd, or if you’re just not too sure on how things will work, let us know as soon as possible, and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can.
That’s all we’ll share for now, but if you have any questions about anything related to RAPS, don’t hesitate to reach out. We can’t wait to see your presentations next Friday!
The Clarkson Ignite Team