Overview

The Postdoc Society are delighted to announce the return of the Queen's Postdoc Showcase in celebration of Postdocs and Research Staff. The theme of this year's event is “Helping to Shape a Better World”. Discover how research from postdocs and research staff across Queen’s University is helping to shape a better world.

This is an event organised 'by postdocs, for postdocs', and an opportunity for all research staff at Queen's to showcase their research, learn about others' research, and network with other postdocs.

The programme will feature talks by invited speakers, an expert panel discussion, an update from the Postdoctoral Development Centre, a research poster/display exhibition, oral presentations by selected postdocs and the winners of the PDC Postdoc Awards will be announced. There will be prizes for the best talks and posters.

The research talks will align with the University's research strategies that are conducted across the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and will be pitched to a wide audience, to enable researchers across different disciplines to understand and enjoy them. This clearly demonstrates how researchers work together to help achieve the SDGs, and in turn help to shape a better world.

Together, let's help to shape a better world and advance sustainable development. Register now for an enriching conference experience!

Programme

09:30 - 10:00 | Registration (Tea, Coffee & Pastries)

10:00 - 10:20 | Welcome

• • • Dr Danielle Logan | Postdoc Society Co-Chair
    • Dr Alex Lucas | Postdoc Society Co-Chair
    • Professor Archie Clements | PVC for Research and Enterprise

10:20 - 10:30 | Postdoctoral Development Centre Update | Dr Alice Dubois

10:30 - 11:45 | "Life After Postdoc - A Panel Discussion"

• • • Dr Darren Gray | Almac Group
    • Dr Alice Dubois | Postdoctoral Development Centre, QUB
    • Dr Sean Cullen | Lecturer - Faculty of EPS, QUB 
    • Dr Charles Vincent | Reader - Faculty of AHSS, QUB
    • Professor Karen McCloskey | Professor - Faculty of MHLS, QUB

11:45 - 13:15 | Lunch & Posters

13:15 - 14:30 | Session 1: Oral Presentations

14:30 - 15:00 | Break (Afternoon Tea)

15:00 - 16:00 | Session 2: Oral Presentations

16:00 - 16:20 | PDC Postdoc Awards

16:20 - 16:40 | Showcase Prize-giving & Closing Remarks

16:40 - 18:00 | Drinks Reception

How to take part

Attend the Showcase

To attend, please register via the booking link at the top of this page. All research staff are welcome to attend this event, however, only postdocs are eligible to submit abstracts for presentations or posters/displays.

Submit your Profile

Participating research staff can opt to have a short profile shared with the wider research community. Profiles will be displayed on-screen during the event, as well as shared on the PDC website and on Twitter via the Postdoc Society account. Each short profile should include your name, a short sentence defining the overall aim or impact of your research, one or two hobbies, your country of origin, the country in which you completed your PhD and a profile picture.

You can submit your profile directly in the registration form for the showcase (see section above).

Submit an abstract to present a poster/display or give a talk

About Abstracts:

The audience at the showcase will include research staff from the many schools at Queen's. You thus need to pitch your research like you would to the public, avoiding jargon. We encourage speakers to distil the essence of their research and highlight links to the SDGs. For example, someone researching literature should be able to understand and enjoy the presentation from a researcher in chemistry and vice-versa. Abstracts should meet this level of accessibility.

Abstracts will also be judged based on the following:

1. Significance and Impact: Highlight the potential impact of your research and its contribution to your field / SDG. Discuss how it addresses real-world challenges, offers practical applications, or informs decision-making.
2. Methodology Description: Concisely describe your research methodology, including tools, techniques, and data sources. Showcase the integration of different perspectives and methodologies to address complex problems.
3. Clarity and Organization: Write a clear and well-organized abstract that is easily understandable. Articulate your research's key points and main arguments, ensuring that the conclusion aligns with the presented results or outcomes.
4. Overall Quality: Maintain high coherence, significance, and engagement in your abstract. Adhere to the conference's guidelines for abstract length, formatting, and submission deadlines.

Abstracts should be no longer than 300 words and should be submitted online at the time of registration. Application deadline: Friday 19 July 2024 at 23:59.

You can indicate your preference for a poster/display or oral presentation when submitting your abstract.

If you indicated your preference is for an oral or you have no preference, we plan to confirm if you have been allocated an oral or a poster presentation by Tuesday 13 August 2024.

Presentations:

Presentations will be expected to be accessible as highlighted above (think about presentations such as TEDtalks and 3-minute thesis presentations).  The number of abstracts received and accepted will determine the length of the presentations (i.e. 5 or 10 minutes).

The Postdoc Society committee will review presentation abstracts and select the maximum number to fit the allocated time slots, ensuring that a diverse range of research is covered.  Presenters will be selected based on the quality of their abstract, especially its accessibility to a wide audience. Presenting a talk requires submitting an abstract (see section above).

Posters / Display:

Posters or displays will be on show all day, with an interactive session over lunchtime. Presenters will only be required to stand with their posters or at their display during the interactive lunchtime session, but you will still have time to get your lunch. Presenting a poster or display requires submitting an abstract (see section above).

Attendees can submit posters they have already used for other conferences. We understand that such posters may be pitched at specialists, but your abstract shouldn't. If you require a table to place your visual display on, please inform us during online registration and we can make sure this is provided.

Poster dimensions: Poster boards are size 4ft x 4ft and posters can be any size up to A0 maximum.