You do not need to have completed your poster by Friday 25 February 2011; you only need to have filled in the application form.

Who can apply?

The Festival of Postgraduate Research is open to research postgraduates across all academic disciplines at the University of Leicester, and at any stage of the research degree. It does not matter if you have just started your PhD or if you're about to sit your Viva.

What do I have to do?

Fill in the application form.  The most important part of it, upon which it will be judged, is the field entitled "Your research and its relevance to the public". In it, you should outline in no more than 300 words the aspect of your research that you would like to cover in your poster, in a way that is understandable to a non-specialist, explaining why it is of interest and relevance to the general public. You do not need to prepare your poster just yet. Selected applicants will then have the chance to attend a day of training on presenting their research to different audiences (see "What happens next?", below). After the training you will have approximately 8 weeks to prepare your poster.

The deadline for applications is 5.00pm Friday 25 February 2011

Please read our Notes for Guidance prior to filling in your application. You may wish to prepare your answers and then copy/paste them into the form once you're ready.

What happens next?

Applications will be considered by Student Development staff, in collaboration with academic departments.  A maximum of 51  students will be selected to present at the Festival of Postgraduate Research. If selected you will be able to attend a day of training, covering different aspects of presenting your research to different audiences (i.e. the general public, the media, potential employers) as well as matters of graphic design. After the training, you will be asked to create a poster that explains your research to a mixed audience of non-subject specialists.  Participants will present in three different categories: Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Law; Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology and Science and Engineering. Your poster, together with your oral presentation of the poster, will be judged at the event by a panel who will not be experts in the same field as you.  The judging panel will be made up of a range of people from both the private and public sectors.  Awards will be given in a number of categories. 

Why is it important that I can communicate my research to people outside of my field?

Research only becomes meaningful when you communicate it to others.  Regardless of your area of research, you will need to be able to communicate your findings to other people, e.g. via peer reviewed articles, meetings and grant proposals.  Posters are a major and growing method of presenting your work, and the best way to learn how to prepare and present them is practice. 

 Please read our Notes for Guidance prior to filling in your application. You may wish to prepare your answers and then copy/paste them into the form once you're ready.

The deadline for applications is 5.00pm Friday 25 February 2011

If you want more information, please contact us at pgevents@le.ac.uk