This unique opportunity gives undergraduate researchers the chance to create an internet archive of their research, share their hard work with a larger audience, and build their portfolio despite current limitations surrounding travel and large gatherings. Students from all disciplines are invited to participate as presenters. All faculty, staff, and graduate students are encouraged to interact with the presenters and explore the breadth of interdisciplinary research conducted by undergraduate students at Mines.

Cash prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The 2021 award winners will be announced April 23rd, 2021 on Zoom.

For further information, please contact the office of Undergraduate Research Scholars at ugresearch@mines.edu

Who’s eligible to be a judge or volunteer?

We encourage judges and volunteers from all departments to partake in this event. All interested faculty, staff, and graduate students are encouraged to judge and/or volunteer. Undergraduate student presenters are encouraged to present their research in a way that communicates their project effectively regardless of their audience’s background.

What is the time commitment of a judge or volunteer?

It depends. Generally, judging will take a couple of hours total (or about 20-30 minutes per project). Student presentations are fairly short, but judges are required to make at least one question or comment per project and student participants are required to respond. As for volunteers, the time commitment depends on how much time you are able to spare. Our office will need the most help on Thursday, April 22nd after 9am and Friday, April 23rd after 2pm.

How will student projects be evaluated?

Student projects will be evaluated differently depending on the format with which they chose to visually represent their work. Rubrics might ask judges to evaluate qualities such as visual organization, delivery, introduction, methods, conclusions, discussion, and interaction in the comments section.

What do student participants receive if they win?

Awarded student participants will receive cash prizes range from $150 to $750. Cash prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The 2021 award winners will be announced April 23rd, 2020 on Zoom.

What is the judging and volunteer timeline?

The Virtual Project Gallery will go live for comment 8:00am MT Monday April 19th through 11:59pm MT Wednesday, April 21st, 2021.  We encourage, judges, participants, and the general public to comment and ask questions from Monday April 19th through Tuesday, April 20th. During this time, all participating judges will be required to ask questions. Then, student participants will have at least 24 hours, Wednesday April 21st, to answer remaining unanswered questions. Students participation in the comments section will be factored into judging. The office of Undergraduate Research Scholars and volunteers will tally judging votes Thursday April 22nd. On Friday April 23rd, our office will host a Celebration of Undergraduate Research on Zoom. At this event, our office will publicly announce the 2021 Virtual Undergraduate Research Symposium award winners and students, judges, and mentors will have the opportunity to celebrate and talk about their work. Judges are not required to attend this event but it is encouraged.

For further information, please contact the office of Undergraduate Research Scholars at ugresearch@mines.edu

CLICK HERE to apply to be a judge or volunteer!

There will be three primary components to the 2021 virtual Undergraduate Research Symposium:

1. Abstract Booklet: The abstract booklet will list all students participating in the virtual Undergraduate Research Symposium and feature a short abstract, as well as authors, co-authors, and mentors. This booklet will be similar to the booklet we had last year and the year before. View the 2019 Abstract Booklet here or the 2020 Abstract Booklet here.
2. Virtual Project Gallery: The Virtual Project Gallery, will be formatted similar to the 2020 Project Gallery. The landing page for this gallery will be searchable by academic department and all the projects will be listed below. Each project listed will link to an individual project page where there will be:
   1. An Abstract:The abstract featured on students project page will be the same as the abstract featured in the booklet of abstracts.
   2. A Visual Presentation: Presenters can visually represent their work EITHER with 1) a digital poster and a 2-3 minute explanatory video (see UF poster presentation example here) OR 2) creating an 8-12 minute recorded oral talk with slides (see ASU oral talk examples here). Please note that both of these options have a recorded video component. If you are presenting at the 2021 symposium and you would like more information on how to approach your presentation, please view the “Guidelines, Tips, and Resources” below.
   3. A Short Author Biography: Presenters will share a short bio about themselves. Presenter’s bios should be 3-6 sentences in third person. This should include their current grade (first-year, sophomore, etc.), their department, their research department, and a bit about the research they’ve done and would like to do.
   4. A Comments Section: The Virtual Project Gallery will go live for comment 8:00am MT Monday April 19th through 11:59pm MT Wednesday, April 21st, 2021.  We will encourage, judges, participants, and the general public to comment and ask questions from Monday April 19th through Tuesday, April 20th. All participating judges will be required to ask questions. Likewise, all participating students will be required to ask at least one question on a peer’s project page by end of day Tuesday, April 20th. This way, students will have at least 24 hours, Wednesday April 21st, to answer any remaining questions. Students participation in the comments section will be factored into judging.
3. Zoom Celebration of Undergraduate Research: The office of Undergraduate Research Scholars will tally votes Thursday April 22nd. On Friday April 23rd, our office will host a Zoom Celebration of Undergraduate Research. At this event, our office will publicly announce the 2021 Virtual Undergraduate Research Symposium award winners and students, judges, and mentors will have the opportunity to celebrate and talk about their work.

Oral talks tend to be a in depth presentation about an individual’s research. If you are submitting an oral talk, please make sure your video is uploaded to Google Drive. All oral talks in the 2021 Virtual Undergraduate Research Symposium require an 8-12 minute voiced-over video where participants go through a slide presentation. Please view both the “Creating your Slides” and the “Creating your Video” section of this toggle for guidance.

To view an examples of a 8-12 minute oral talks, please click here.

Creating your Slides

Overall, presentation slides can contain the same (or similar) information as a poster:

• Creating Your Content: First and foremost, please speak to your mentor regarding content. For additional help, you should consider scheduling an appointment at the Writing Center through their online scheduler.You can also view some tips provided by the University of Pittsburgh here, or some tips from the CLIMB Program, here. Some general guidelines when preparing your presentation is to make sure:
  • The title effectively communicates subject matter.
  • Purpose/objectives are clearly stated.
  • Applicability or relevance of work is identified.
  • Concise explanation of methods/analysis are used.
  • Methods used are clearly conveyed.
  • Conclusions are supported by data.
  • Funding sources are acknowledged.
• Choosing a Program (to Create Your Presentation): Some common programs include Google Slides or PowerPoint. It doesn’t matter what you choose. PowerPoint tends to be a little more versatile in options. Both programs allow you to embed recorded audio onto your slides – some people choose this option instead of presenting their research as they are recording a video. For an introduction to Google Slides, please follow this link. For more information about Microsoft PowerPoint, please follow this link.
• Length of Presentation: Rather than giving a limit on file size or slide number, we recommend that presentation be about 8-12 minutes when you read the content aloud. Try not to overwhelm the audience with too many slides; but, make sure you’re engaging them with visual aids.
• General Principles of Design: Similar to creating a poster, be mindful that an audience may lose interest in long presentations that are text heavy. Use appropriate graphics wherever possible as they can convey information effectively and make the presentation look appealing. Be mindful of color, font size, and image resolution. Sometimes, it can be helpful to find a presentation you like and try to emulate that style.

Creating your Video

Please make sure all videos are uploaded to Google Drive and you have followed the directions outlined in “How to Submit a Video”. Please use the following information to help you as needed:

• Length and File Size: The video should be between 8-12 minutes in length. Because you will be uploading the video directly to Google Drive, be mindful of your network’s bandwidth. Before creating or uploading your video, make sure your file extension is a readable video extension (you can view a list of acceptable extensions on Googles support page).
• Content: The content of your 8-12 minute video should be in recorded in coordination with your slide presentation and it should be planned and practiced in advance of recording. We recommend you prepare an oral talk about your research as if you were presenting at an in-person conference. Be mindful of your audience and pacing. The oral talks invite questions while still breaking down your research for an audience that might know very little about your project. Try answering the question, “What is my research about?,” in a way that makes sense to researchers and non-researchers alike.
• Using Zoom to Record Your Presentation: When recording, be mindful of lighting, the clothes you are wearing, and your background. It is important you appear professional just as you would at an in-person conference. There are a number of ways you can create a voiced-over video presentation. But, a simple method to record yourself presenting slides is by using Zoom’s screen sharing and recording features. To learn how to use these features, please follow this link provided by the University of Denver. This video details some things that are not pertinent to the Mines 2021 virtual Undergraduate Research Symposium; however, it gives the clearest instructions. Pertinent information is from 7:44-18:22. You can also find more information about screen sharing here, in the Zoom Help Center.
• Uploading Your Video to Google Drive: Due to constraints around file size and in order to ensure your video remains on your project page archive (even after you are no longer a student at Colorado School of Mines), Google Drive will be the easiest way for our office to receive and embed your video. For instructions on uploading a video to Google Drive, please visit this link.

Please make sure all videos are uploaded to Google Drive. Please follow these instructions carefully in order to share your video file.

1. Login to your Google account and navigate to your Google Drive.
2. Find the file you would like to share. Without opening the file, right click the file and select “Share”.
3. Two boxes will pop up simultaneously. The one at the top will state “Share with people and groups”. The box immediately below it will state “Get link”.
4. First, click on the “Share with people and groups” box and click the box that states “Add people and groups”. Type mines.ugresearch@gmail.com. Select the drop-down the the right that says “Viewer”, “Commenter”, and “Editor”. Select “Editor”. Lastly, click “Send”.
5. Then, click on the “Get link” box.
6. If it states “Restricted …”. Click the “Restricted” drop-down menu and select “Anyone with the link”. Then, to the right, select the drop-down that says “Viewer”, “Commenter”, and “Editor”. Select “Editor”.  The “Get Link” box should now state “Anyone on the internet with this link can edit”.
7. Lastly, copy the link URL under “Link to share” and paste it in the form.