Poster presentations

Researchers, students, and post-docs conducting aging related research are invited to submit an academic poster to present at the Spring Research Symposium.

Poster session

This year's poster session will take place in person on May 1, 2023.

The call for poster submissions is now closed.

Monday, May 1, 2023
8:45 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Joe Doupe Concourse  |  University of Manitoba Bannatyne Campus

Poster submission guidelines

The Centre on Aging welcomes abstract submissions that focus on research related to aging from students, post-doctoral fellows, and Centre on Aging Research Affiliates. The poster may be one that you have presented at a conference in the past 18 months, or a report on work in progress. All posters must be prepared in the required format.

  • Poster presenters can present their research either in-person, virtual, or both *in person and virtual (depending on space available). In person presentations are on a first come, first serve basis.
  • If you will be presenting the poster in-person at the Spring Research Symposium, you will be asked to register for the Symposium. Once registration is open, you will be provided with a link to register. 
  • If you choose to present both in-person and virtual, you must format your posters in both required formats. Presenters who don’t follow the correct format will be contacted and asked to correct their posters.

Submit presenter information

  1. Both in-person and virtual poster presenters must submit the Presenter information form. Submissions should include a title, author(s) name, affiliation (as identified in the example below), which will be included in the Symposium program. 
  2. To assist us with compiling information for the program, please submit author names and affiliations as follows:

Title    Exploratory study of Google Nest Hubs in the long-term care setting in Manitoba
Authors    FORMAT: First Name, Last Name 
Dallas J. Murphy1, Michelle M. Porter1,2, Nicole J. Dunn1, Celine Latulipe1,3
Affiliations    List affiliation(s) for each author
1Centre on Aging, University of Manitoba, 2Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management, University of Manitoba, 3Department of Computer Science, University of Manitoba

  1. Return the completed form by March 24, 2023 to Nicole.Dunn@umanitoba.ca  
  2. All poster submissions will be reviewed by Centre staff. Any poster deemed inappropriate or does not include aging related content will be excluded from the poster session. 

Poster presentation guidelines

  • A graduate student presents her aging related research during the poster session at the Spring Research Symposium.
  • Symposium attendees attend the poster session at the Spring Research Symposium.

In-person poster presentations

Individuals accepted to present posters in-person should note the posters will be available for public viewing prior to the morning session, over the lunch hour, and during the morning and afternoon breaks. 

  • Poster presenters should make themselves available during the break times to meet with and discuss their posters with Symposium attendees. Symposium audience includes academics, students, practitioners, and the general public. 
  • Posters must be prepared in conference format style and printed in wide format to display on the assigned poster board.
  • Poster dimensions should be no larger than 4 ft x 3 ft (or 42 inches (width) x 32 inches (height)), including the margin. 
  • The poster boards are velcro style, 6 ft x 4 ft boards. Layouts should allow space for titles and authors. Presenters will be allowed one poster per board side.
  • A limited amount of Velcro dots will be available for presenters to hang their poster. These will be available first come, first serve.
  • Poster presenters may provide copies of their presentation, other related handouts, and contact information for symposium attendees.
  • Use appropriate, respectful language when discussing older adults. Refer to the Gerontological Society of America's (GSA) "Reframing Aging Journal Manuscript Guidelines."
  • Ensure that you are following appropriate copyright standards. You should be citing your sources and using Creative Commons or Public Domain images. Visit the UM Copyright Office’s website for additional information. 
  • When using the UM logo, ensure you are using the correct version as per the UM style guidelines: umanitoba.ca/about-um/brand.
  • On the day of the Symposium, all posters must be removed from the poster boards at 4 p.m.
  • You have two options to present your poster: in person or virtually. Should you decided to switch your presentation from in person to a virtual format at a later date, your in-person spot will be reassigned to another presenter. Virtual presentations must be submitted by April 6.

Virtual presentations

The virtual presentation session will be available for viewing online for a limited time on May 1, 2023. Audio narration is mandatory for your poster presentation. Presenters can choose one of two options to submit their poster:

  1. Present using PowerPoint slides
    This is the preferred method as it is much easier for virtual attendees to follow the visuals with the audio. Presenters will be allotted five minutes maximum to present, using a maximum of five slides (includes any title or reference slides) to discuss their research. Presenters would still be required to use the audio narration in PowerPoint for the viewing audience.
  2. Submit a traditional academic poster
    Presenters can submit a traditional academic poster with narration in a PowerPoint slide. You have five minutes (maximum) for your audio narration.
    As the posters will be static (i.e., there will be no zooming into specific elements of the poster), presenters must format their poster appropriately (use large font sizes and images, etc).
    Presenters who exceed the scheduled time will be contacted, and presenters will need to adjust their presentations to meet the five-minute time limit.
  3. The presentation session will only stream live on the day of the Symposium (9 a.m.–4 p.m.) There will be no opportunity to chat with virtual poster presenters to discuss your research.
  4. To view the presentations, Symposium virtual poster attendees will click a link on the Table of Contents to access the poster session webpage.

Developing your poster

  1. Create your poster in PowerPoint as you normally would. If you would like a copy of a poster template, contact nicole.dunn@umanitoba.ca.
  2. If you are creating a slide presentation, use a maximum of five slides in PowerPoint. When using the UM logo, ensure you are using the correct version as per the UM style guidelines: umanitoba.ca/about-um/brand. 
  • Additionally, you may use the UM branded PowerPoint template, which is also available to download from the UM style guidelines webpage. Or, you may use your own PowerPoint slide template.
  • Choose the slide size of 16:9 (widescreen), which is more effective for the viewing audience. Remember, they may be viewing your presentation on a computer, tablet, or mobile device.
  • To do this, in PowerPoint, select the Design tab>Slide size>Widescreen. 
  • Suggested minimum font size should be 18 points.
  • Suggest you use a maximum of six lines per slide.
  • Write for a general audience. Symposium attendees generally are made up of the general public, academic, practitioners and professionals, and government organizations.
  • For readability, we suggest you use dark colors (black, brown, blue) on a light background; and avoid using light colours on a dark background that may be difficult to read on screen (white, yellow)
  • Avoid including busy graphs that requires a lot of explanations. Include only relevant images or graphs.
  1. Use appropriate, respectful language when discussing older adults. Refer to the Gerontological Society of America's (GSA) "Reframing Aging Journal Manuscript Guidelines."
  2. Ensure that you are following appropriate copyright standards. You should be citing your sources and using Creative Commons or Public Domain images. Visit the UM Copyright Office’s website for additional information.
  3. Due to the virtual nature of the poster session, students, post docs, and Research Affiliates should provide context about their poster and include audio narration. The narration simulates what you might do with someone in-person.

Think of it as if you were providing a virtual tour of your presentation. Provide a maximum five minute narration. Walk the audience through your poster by:

  • highlighting certain elements of figures, tables or pictures, etc.;
  • discussing how you conducted your research;
  • using plain language, as attendees come from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines, and the general public; and
  • speaking clearly and at a steady pace.

Recording your poster presentation

  1. Record your five minute presentation in Zoom. If you need help recording, view this short video tutorial on preparing your PowerPoint presentation in Zoom.
  2. Save your file in an MP4 file format.

Submitting your virtual presentation

  1. Submissions must be received by Thursday, April 6, 2023.Students and post-docs should only submit their final narrated presentation version. Any poster submissions received after April 6 will not be accepted.
  2. Name your presentation file in the following format: first author’s “last name-poster title”. This will help us to prepare the files for the online format.
    e.g., murphy-exploratory study of google nest hubs in the long-term care setting in Manitoba
  3. Submit your virtual poster to rachel.ines@umanitoba.ca via Dropbox. We will confirm receipt of your poster once received.
  4. Closer to the Symposium date, you will be contacted with information on where to find your virtual presentation online.
  5. On the day of the Symposium, all virtual presentations will be taken offline at 4 p.m.

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