UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The 2024 Undergraduate Exhibition for Research, Inquiry and Creative Activity will once again showcase a diverse range of student presentations with an in-person portion from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 17 and a virtual exhibition from April 15-17.
For students working toward research careers and higher degrees, the exhibition is a particularly valuable opportunity to practice concise presentation and professional research procedures.
Melinda Jin, who participated in the 2023 exhibition, is a second-year Schreyer Scholar pursuing a major in biochemistry and molecular biology. Her research with the Global Medical Brigades organization took her on a spring break trip to Honduras where she volunteered at temporary medical clinics and worked with local doctors. As a prospective medical school student, Jin found the exhibition experience to be a highly constructive process.
“Since doing these, I definitely plan on doing more in the future,” said Jin about her presentations at last year’s exhibition and SEN Expo. “They have helped me think about my communication and presentation skills,” Jin said, adding that her undergraduate experience was helpful practice for presenting and conducting research in medical school.
In-person presentations: A professional stepping stone
The exhibition’s poster presentations are judged in five categories: arts and humanities, engineering, health and life sciences, physical sciences and social and behavioral sciences. Students are awarded for best overall, category awards, outstanding junior entries and the University Libraries’ award for excellence in information literacy. Both the awards for outstanding junior and best overall include a monetary prize.
Jin found the in-person judging process to be a unique opportunity for constructive criticism.
“It’s always a good experience to practice talking and meeting people, especially faculty who can give you feedback” on your research and presentation skills, Jin said. She emphasized how beneficial this feedback will be not only for her future at Penn State but after graduation as well.
“I’ll definitely think more about how to effectively share my own experiences. Especially using research terms that others might not know. … I’m learning how to balance that and how to better communicate with others,” said Jin. She found communication to be a central part of showing her skills and recalled this as a central takeaway from the feedback she received.
Wendy Hanna-Rose is a professor and department head of biochemistry and molecular biology at University Park and leads Jin’s undergraduate lab. She emphasized the poster presentation as a way to build valuable skills in visual communication.
“Being able to present efficiently serves [the students] really well when they’re looking for jobs and looking for graduate school admissions and medical school admissions. It puts them in a position where they are comfortable going into an interview,” said Hanna-Rose.
She added, “They just have so much fun, too. To see students take ownership of a project that they put the creative and intellectual energy into learning about and having the opportunity to pull that all together and show it to someone. … They get really excited and I think that’s great for their education.”
During the in-person exhibition, presenters will have the chance to engage peers and faculty from various fields of study. When asked what she enjoyed most about the exhibition, Jin responded, “I enjoyed hearing people’s questions about my experiences.” She got used to repeating her five-minute speech and enjoyed the chance to hear specific questions and “see what people are interested in.”
Hanna-Rose spoke on the range of audiences that attend exhibitions and discussed the “knowledge gap” that occurs either between scientists and non-scientists or scientists of different fields.
“You absolutely have to be able to communicate what you know about science and data to someone who is not necessarily an expert,” she said.
She advises students to focus on the visual aspect of their poster as opposed to written words and suggests using diagrams, graphs and pictures to communicate their ideas.
To further engage her audience, Jin said, “Focusing on the larger impact of what you’ve done is really important and something that a lot of people forget.” She encouraged presenters to not get carried away by the specifics and to remind audiences at the beginning and end of their presentations of how their topic fits into their “personal goals and the community at large.”
Jin plans to participate in this spring’s exhibition and foresees many more research presentations in her future. She advised students who are considering applying: “Don’t be afraid to sign up. It can only help you.”
Hanna-Rose encouraged students to sign up as early as their first or second year, as repetition can develop and strengthen a project. Referring to Jin as an example, she recalled her success as a new student and predicted an even more impressive poster and presentation by Jin’s senior year.
Undergraduates from all campuses are eligible and encouraged to apply if they are endorsed by a Penn State research mentor.
How to apply
Applications for the 2024 exhibition will be open from Feb. 9 to March 11. Apply now and find more information at urfm.psu.edu.
The Undergraduate Exhibition is coordinated by Penn State Undergraduate Education.