Poster & Project

Presentations
The Robert Gordon University
School of Engineering
Dr. Mohamed Amish
Posters vs. Papers
• Papers are designed to appeal to editors of
scholarly journals.
• Posters are designed to appeal to peers and
colleagues at conferences
• A paper presents all the information; a poster
presents the most important information.
• A poster presentation allows for the exchange of
ideas and information regarding your research.
Poster
The ideal poster is designed to:
• provide a brief overview of your research work;
• initiate discussion;
• attract attention;
• give something useful to point to as you discuss
your work;
• stand alone when you are not available to
provide an explanation;
• inform people of your particular expertise.
Developing the Content
The most effective poster presentations provide
minimal text but still clearly define the central
message by following a standard format.
• Title and Affiliations
• Introduction
• Methodology
• Results
• Discussion / Conclusion
Planning

• You have to stand back and think about

the What's, the How's and the Why's of the
work.
• Critically examine both the approach taken
and the results.
Planning
Gathering the information

• What is the objective of the investigation?

• How was the study conducted (method)?
• What assumptions were made? Are they justified?
• What results were obtained? Are the analyses
sound?
Poster Design and Layout
• Determine what three or four key points you
want to make. You want your poster to cover
the key points of your work - not all the details.
• Design and lay out the poster ahead of time.
• The flow of the poster should be from top left to
bottom right.
Poster Design
• Title, author, supervisors, institutional affiliation.
• An "Introduction" to the project (rationale, background, clear
statements about what you have set out to do, problem(s) you
intend to solve, reasons why you chose to study this problem etc.).
These should lead to declarations of the project objectives.
• "Methodology" or "Experimental" section to explain the basis of the
techniques, procedures and data collection to be used including
any assumptions made (to put your results into context).
• A "Results and Discussion" section (summary of the most
important results) to explain what you have done so far and what it
tells you (your interpretation). Implications of the findings.
• A "Conclusions & Further Work" section summarising your findings
to date and thoughts about how the work will progress from this
point. Did the study raise questions?
Elements of Your Poster

Title
Abstract
Introduction Methods
Data / Results
Conclusions
Title
Title
Simple, able to be seen from 3.5 meters away.

Author(s)
Always use first names.

Institution
Institution and department.
Abstract
• Identify what is being studied, how it is to be
studied, what the variables are.
• Identify the hypothesis.
• State the findings.
• Be brief
Introduction

Less in-depth than an introduction for a paper.

Highlight and focus on:

• Questions raised and answered by previous research.
• The question you are asking and why you are asking it.
• Objectives
• Again, be brief
Methodology

Identify:
• Type of tests used in your experiment
• Test procedure
Data / Results

• What is the central message of the results?

• This section may involve little text and more
graphics.

Graphic / visual elements:

• Tables, Charts, Pictures, Graphs
Discussion / Conclusion

Be concise and clear.

Highlight:
• What was found, and its importance.
• Parallels and discrepancies with previous
research and theory.
• The direction of future research.
Acknowledgments

• Acknowledge those professionals and research

assistants that contributed to your study.
• Acknowledge your funding body
• Be brief.

Note: this section is not a requirement.

Student Name:
Company Supervisor:
Academic Supervisor: Project Title
School of Engineering

Introduction Methodology Discussion / results

Objectives Table/graph Conclusions & ideas for

new research
100
80
60
East
40
West
20
0 North
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Qtr Qtr Qtr Qtr
Organisation and Layout

Fonts
• Use the same font style throughout the poster.
• The title should be readable from 3.5m away.
• The body of the writing should be readable 1m
away.
Organisation and Layout

There is ALWAYS too much text in a poster.

Look critically at the layout. 40% text, 40% graphics

and 20% empty space is considered a good ratio.
Project Presentation: Slide Organisation
The presentation should flow logically from beginning
to end, as in written work. The main concepts of the
presentation are to plan, focus and practice.
• Plan the layout of the presentation. Strongly consider
drawing up an outline before assembling the actual
slides.
• Focus on the main point(s) to be made. "What you have
done", “Why” and “Your contribution”
• Practice the presentation with the company supervisor
or colleagues at least once before presenting it to the
audience.
Presentation Guidelines – example slide list:
• Project title and your name (1 slide);
• Introduction (1 slide);
• Objectives (1 slide);
• Methodology (1 slide);
• Case study (1 slide);
• Analysis & results (7 slides approximately);
• Conclusions & recommendations (2 slides);

A total of approximately 10-14 slides will be sufficient for 20 minutes

(maximum) presentation time. Remember, each slide should contain
only a few words. Use bullet points to provide summary information.
Following the presentation, there will be a short period (10 minutes)
for you to answer questions from the audience and panel.
Good Luck

shelloffice@rgu.ac.uk