Poster Presentation Competition

Environmental Protection UK with Environmental Technology Publications Ltd. and Enviro Technology plc. are offering an opportunity for degree and higher level qualified students to illustrate and present their work and are Sponsoring poster presentations at this years’ Air Quality & Emissions Exhibition to be held at Telford International Centre on the 22^nd and 23^rd April.

Why a Poster?

Posters are widely used to summarise information from research but are now being used more widely to provide information in a concise and interesting manner with the aim to promote discussion and increase awareness of the subject matter. More and more conferences are enabling the use of poster presentations in order to stimulate discussion, perhaps on fringe issues, and to allow a degree of exposure to topics that are worth further consideration and can be used as an addendum to the main conference themes.

Posters should be used as a visible insight into the work that is being promoted. They should have a high visual impact with clear points and short text insertions. Too much text tends to turn people away, too little leaves some wondering what the poster is about. The whole idea is to draw in rather than push away. Interaction is what you should be looking for as this provides you with the opportunity to promote your subject area.

What should your poster look like?

The only real direction that can be given is the size and topic as the rest is up to you as it is your interpretation that will be on show and open to discussion.

As a possible poster presenter at the upcoming Air Quality & Emissions Show (AQE Show) you should design your poster in accordance with the following poster guidelines;

• Posters must be in portrait orientation (vertical) and not exceed 90cm wide by 180cm tall. Posters in landscape orientation (horizontal) will not fit on the poster boards being used at the conference.>
• We advise that poster presenters use A0 sized posters which are 84cm x 119cm
• The poster boards are made of shell scheme type material and work with sticky hooks and loops which will be provided.

Some basic points that will help in your presentation of information are contained in the ‘7 point poster code’:

• Understand the topic and determine the major and supplementary points that you wish to be illustrated in the poster.
• Know your limitations in design. Do not use software that is unfamiliar to you. It is no use getting ‘hung – up’ on the design at the expense of what you want to say.
• Titles are important. They attract the potential reader. Too long and people lose interest; too short and the understanding of what you want to achieve may be lost. The idea is grab attention so that you can talk through your poster points.
• Be logical in setting out information. Seems simple but many posters are a hotch potch of information points with little coherence or cohesion displayed in random fashion. Flow is good, meandering is OK but a ‘scatter – gun’ approach seldom meets the needs of a well presented piece of work.
• A clean layout does much for clear presentation and easy understanding.
• Remember to make the poster attractive. The use of text boxes with large enough text, bullet points, graphs, diagrams, photographs and colour make a good basis for poster design. Do not forget to include your name, contact details and affiliation as these are often overlooked.
• When considering the text element of the poster consider ‘less means more.’ Do not clutter! Posters should be considered as more than just an illustration of the main points and substantially less than a written paper. Titles should be readable from 3 metres or so and subsidiary text from 1.5 metres.

More advice available at www.personal.psu.edu/drs18/postershow/

What is the title of the poster?

The subject matter is current and in line with the ethos of the Air Quality & Emissions Exhibition and the newly formed Clean Air Alliance UK. The title reflects the health effects, our personal responsibilities and action that can be taken to secure clean air and is;

‘Air Pollution is bad for our health –taking personal responsibility and local action to deliver clean air’

What are the important dates?

Your poster should be sent to petefryer@blueyonder.co.uk by 7^th April.

A shortlist of 6 posters will be chosen by 12^th April and all participants informed thereafter.

If shortlisted you will be invited to attend the Air Quality & Emissions Exhibition on the 22^nd of April where a poster presentation space will be reserved for you in the exhibition hall for use  on Wednesday and Thursday where your a panel of judges will judge your poster before the Gala Dinner.

 6 shortlisted poster presenters will be invited to the Gala Dinner and the winner will be given the EPUK award for the best poster for AQE 2015. All short listed entrants will be given a certificate, free individual membership of Environmental Protection UK for a year and a copy of ‘Essential Environment’ and a room will be reserved for them, in the hotel, after the Gala Dinner. Remember to meet the deadline date, include your contact details and to let people know you will be giving a poster at the AQE Show so they can come and see you at the conference and meet other exhibitors too.