Oral presentations
Unlike many conferences, where a single presenter takes questions immediately after their talk, the Lancet UK Public Health Sciences conference uses a 10-15 minute panel Q&A session. This takes place after a group of five oral presentations. All of the presenters from the group sit on the panel and the audience can ask specific or general questions. This creates a more collaborative discussion, with the aim of fostering interdisciplinary interactions.
Oral presentation formatting guidelines and advice
- Oral presentations should be ten minutes long.
- Be aware that the audience is a mix of policy makers, practitioners, and researchers, all of whom have different expertise and levels of experience. Therefore, as far as is possible, your presentation should aim to engage and inform this mixed audience.
- If you choose to use slides as visual aids during your presentation:
- It bears repeating that slides should be visual aids that increase the accessibility and understanding of your work. Presenter View will be available if you do wish to use extensive written notes or a script so your slides can feature relatively minimal text. There is plenty of time to discuss technical details with anybody that has specific interest over tea during breaks.
- The recommended aspect ratio is 16:9 widescreen.
- A laptop with PowerPoint will be available at the conference venue. You can bring your .ppt/.pptx PowerPoint file on a USB stick.
- If you prefer to use software other than PowerPoint (e.g., Apple Keynote, PDF files) then please bring your own laptop to ensure your delicately-crafted visuals appear correctly. Conference venues will typically use HDMI for video input to their AV systems so remember to bring any adapters you may need.
- Presenters should test their slides and/or AV connections setup prior to their session. Conference staff will be on hand from the start of the day and during refreshment breaks to assist.
- Question not answered here? Please contact Danny Bradford [d.bradford.1@research.gla.ac.uk].
Poster presentations
Most successful abstracts submitted to the Lancet UK Public Health Science will be awarded poster presentations. The conference recognises the great effort that goes into creating posters and runs a chaired poster session, rather than passive viewing sessions (although posters are displayed for the entirety of the conference for viewing during breaks). The main author, or a nominated substitute, is expected to attend the conference and actively present their work.
Poster session format
Groups of 6-8 posters of thematically-similar posters are displayed together. Each group is assigned a chair to encourage discussion and manage timekeeping of the poster session. Each presenter is given a few minutes to orally summarise their work, adding details and nuance which they may have been unable to capture in the poster. Each presentation is followed by a couple of minutes set aside for discussion (the allotted time varies depending on each year’s programme and specific details will be sent via email to presenters when the programme is finalised).
Poster display instructions
Posters do not need to be submitted in advance. A physical copy of the poster should be brought to the conference by the presenting author. During the registration process, poster presenters will be told their assigned display board number and provided with adhesive Velcro dots. Posters should be attached to their assigned display board using the Velcro dots during the 08.30-09.00 registration window.
Post-conference digital poster hosting
Attempts will be made to provide an online display page for all posters after the conference, but this remains TBC. Digital copies do not need to be submitted in advance. Presenters will be contacted in due course when a hosting solution has been identified. This will likely be in the weeks following the conference. Digital display of posters will be optional.
Poster presentation formatting guidelines and advice
- Posters are recommended to be A0 and in portrait layout (landscape A0 is too wide for typical poster boards).
- The title displayed on the poster must match the title of the submitted extract.
- The title and the name of the presenting/submitting authors must be displayed clearly at the top or bottom of the poster. This is to facilitate judging for prizes.
- Adhesive Velcro dots are provided on the day to attach posters to poster boards. No other form of fixing is permitted.
- Be aware that conference delegates are a mix of policy makers, practitioners, researchers, all of whom have different expertise and levels of experience. Thoughtfully consider what you want to communicate about your research, as well as who you want to communicate with.
- For some general advice about academic conference poster design, this article is useful reading.