Cardiff University | University Graduate College

Voice of Humanities

A Conference and Poster Competition for Postgraduate Researchers at Cardiff University and Neighbouring Institutions

Thursday 21 March 2013

ABOUT THE EVENT

This conference, which is organised by and for postgraduate researchers, provides an opportunity for postgraduates to practice presenting their research to people outside their own specialist field, and to establish links and encounter a broad range of humanities research. Proposals for presentations and/or posters from all year groups will be invited. Cash prizes are awarded for the best presentations and posters. Researchers from neighbouring Universities will also be invited to take part.

The aim is for researchers to communicate the essence of their research via short presentations to other non-specialists. A primary purpose of the event therefore is to develop communication skills within a mutually supportive environment. The conference will also provide participants with a valuable opportunity to meet other researchers and establish links.

There will be talks throughout the day, with poster presentations on display during the lunch break (lunch will be provided). Prizes will be awarded at the end of the day for the best talk and best poster, with a drinks reception to end the event.

The deadline for abstracts has now closed. If you would like to attend as a non-presenting delegate, please click here.

Voice of Humanities Call for Abstracts 2013

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

The keynote speaker at this year’s Voice of Humanities conference will be: Dr Andrew Edgar, School of English, Communication and Philosophy, whose talk is entitled ‘Postemotional Society and the Philosophy of Sport’.

WHO CAN ATTEND?

This conference is open to all MPhils and PhDs across the humanities at Cardiff University. The event is also open to students from neighbouring institutions.

PRESENTATIONS

Talks should be no longer than 15 minutes long. Please be prepared to answer questions from the audience on your research. Remember that the audience will be interdisciplinary therefore your presentation must be understandable to non-specialists.

ABSTRACTS

The deadline for abstracts has now closed. If you would like to attend as a non presenting delegate, please click here.

Your abstract should clearly and concisely (in approx 200 words) provide an overview of your presentation. You can either introduce your research project as a whole, giving an overview of what you are doing and why, or you can explain a specific aspect of your research in more detail. In either case you should explain its significance to your field. You should outline the main objectives of your project and what conclusions you hope to make. It is important to remember that the aim of this conference is to communicate your research to non-specialists outside your field, and your abstract should reflect this.

As many of you may be in the early stages of your research you may wish to communicate your findings thus far, and what direction you plan to take in the future. It is a good idea for the title of your abstract to be no more than ten words in which you encapsulate the topic of your paper in a clear but interesting manner. Bear in mind that the length of talks is 15 minutes with 5 minutes for questions. If you would like to present a poster, please submit an abstract describing the content of the poster (approximately 200 words) for the selection panel to consider.

An example of a good abstract is shown below:

“Making Jello with Medicines?
Gels are often encountered in our everyday lives; let it be as hair gel or summery strawberry jello. Although being composed predominately of liquid, they appear solid-like. In our research, we have found systems where gels can be formed with fluorinated liquids. These liquids have recently been the focus of much attention as therapeutic molecules (e.g. lung fluid replacements and blood substitutes). Therefore, combining both worlds and designing gels made of fluorinated liquids opens a wide range of perspectives. In this presentation, we will see how these gels are formed and question the mechanisms behind such a phenomenon.”

POSTERS

Posters can be up to A1 size (landscape or portrait) and should address four areas: the context/history of your work, what you are doing, why it matters, and where you are going next. When submitting an abstract for a poster, please provide an outline of this information (in approximately 200 words) for the selection panel to consider. If your poster abstract is approved by the committee funding will be available from the University Graduate College to pay for it to be printed in A1 size, colour print, on glossy paper. Please note that posters do not need to be completed until approximately one week before the conference.

If you haven’t done a poster before, the advantages of doing one are:

It’s an easier way of presenting research if you’re still early on in your PhD or not keen on giving oral presentations.
Humanities disciplines are increasingly calling for posters at conferences. This event gives you chance to try your hand at producing one.
A poster can be re-used at other events.

An example of a ‘good’ humanities poster can be found below.

Example of a Good Humanities Poster (1.9 Mb, 312 downloads)

PRE-EVENT TRAINING

There will be various pre-event workshops to assist you in tailoring your presentation. Dates for the workshops in 2012-13 will be available in due course:

Presentation Skills

Presenting Research Orally

Conference Posters

Please note that these workshops are only open to Cardiff University students.

PRIZES/JUDGING

Cash prizes will be awarded for the best talks and the best posters which will be judged by a panel of postgraduate researchers. You can also be provided with feedback on your presentation if you feel that this would be valuable to you.

Talks and posters will be judged mainly on content/structure/delivery and how accessible you made your research to a non-specialist audience. Talks and posters that are too technical in their nature will not score as highly as those which have been modified to suit a general scientific audience.

FEEDBACK FROM STUDENTS

‘A great opportunity to see a lot of presentation styles, a chance to network with PGRs from other schools and an illuminating insight into current research activity.’

‘It opened up my eyes to the benefits of interdisciplinary communication, gave me some great contacts as well as invaluable experience delivering a paper. It was also nice to meet other students in the same boat.’

‘A chance to engage with PhD students in other disciplines and to gain presenting experience in a friendly environment.’