My First Scientific Conference and Presentation

Thank you for stopping by my blog today. I’m really grateful to have people eager to follow my journey. If this is your first visit to my blog, you are welcome. Please read this post and then this too, to know more about me and what I do.

I will be away from the lab for a week, attending the annual of Biotechnology Society of Nigeria, conference. The conference this year holds at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan and I’m super excited to attend.

I’ll also be sharing some of my work, in form of a poster 💃🏽💃🏽.

This is what a poster looks like.

Photo: bsniita2019.com

A poster presentation is an easy way to communicate research in a concise format. I have been nervous about this presentation and I’ve had to read so much to prepare me for it (even though I don’t still feel prepared).

Before this, I never really knew much about poster presentations. I know that I saw a lot of them at work and in my professors office; but it was just the final product. I have learnt some things and I would love to share it here, because I’m sure there are other young scientists that will find this helpful.

So, this post will share basic information on poster presentations: what you need to know, as well as some reference materials that I’ve found helpful.

1. Before you think about presenting something, you must have carried out a study. That’s great! It’s not an easy task and I’m proud of you. (I’m still proud of you if you’ve not carried out a study 😅).

2. Then, look out for conferences coming up and identify the ones that are in line with your study (Example, if your study is of public health interest, you can present at a Public Health Conference).

3. The conference organizers will call for abstracts with some specifications and a deadline. Prepare your abstract and send it in early. Do not wait for the last minute just in case there are limited slots available. (PS. you might have to pay the attendance fee before you submit).

4. If your abstract is accepted, Congratulations! It’s time to prepare the poster.

5. This step can be quite confusing, but I’ll just give a few tips. Don’t make the poster too wordy, instead you should use pictures, diagrams, flowcharts and graphs to present the work. Consult your supervisor or Principal Investigator, check for videos on YouTube if you’re confused. Follow the conference format and send a mail to the organizers if you’re confused about something.

6. After all the editing is done, you can go ahead and print your poster. After printing, pack or roll it well, so it doesn’t get rough.

7. All this should be done at least three days before the conference and you’re good to go.

8. This last and very important tip is one thing I don’t feel I have done enough of, but I believe it’s very helpful. PRACTICE!!!!!! Yes, I am shouting. Call your friends, your siblings, your parents, everyone. Call them at different times and practice in front of them. They will ask questions that might help improve your confidence.

I like people to ask me questions because, it helps me go back to read more and understand some statements better.

Thank you for reading 🤗 and I hope this was helpful. Feel free to share any poster presentation experience and tips in the comment section; other people might need it.

Additional Information

I’ve attached some of the materials that helped me, so if you want to read further, you can start with these.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1876493/

https://www.lucidpress.com/blog/guide-to-scientific-research-poster-presentations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQDoZdoESQo&app=desktop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMSaFUrk-FA&app=desktop