Posters

Submit an abstract

A conference poster permits the display of research, projects, or ideas on a large poster board, generally with a layout that includes visuals, text, and graphics. The emphasis is on visual communication, and the intention is for attendees to digest the content at their own pace. The conference will include a drinks and poster reception, enabling interactions between the presenter and viewers, who can ask questions and discuss the content. This offers an engaging way to network with conference attendees on a one-to-one basis about your work. Presenters will also deliver a two-minute lightning talk to advertise their poster, prior to the reception. The deadline for submissions is 23:59 BST on 25 April 2025.

Posters are a highly accessible approach to presenting your work, and offer a platform to share your work in a more informal setting compared to talks and walkthroughs.

Conference attendees will be invited to vote for their favourite poster, with prizes awarded in four categories.

Planning your submission

The purpose of a poster submission is to initiate conversation by delivering information in a concise visual format. Conference attendees will be able to view posters throughout the conference, so they should be comprehensible independent of their presenter.

Topics for posters could include:

Promoting a successful research software project or tool
Spotlighting a novel workflow that could help others
Presenting research about the research software engineering community

Topics for posters have previously included:

You are welcome to refer to these posters, and others in last year’s programme, for ideas on how to present your submissions. Please bear in mind that our conference themes change each year, and previous abstracts may not fully address the type of information requested during our submission process this year. This year’s twin theme is RSE as Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI); RSE and Research Excellence.

When submitting your proposal for a Poster, you should consider:

Title: Should describe what your poster is about. (max 50 words)
Abstract: A brief and attention-grabbing summary of the content of your poster. (max 250 words)
Prerequisites: Describe the required skills or knowledge for an attendee to fully engage with your submission. (max 150 words)
Whether you want to hold a lightning talk (see “At the conference”)

You will also be asked to provide:

Author list: identifying the corresponding author
Research Software Development Principles: Please select Research Software Development Principles that are relevant to your work (checklist)
Reviewing Submissions: We need your help to review submissions. Would you be interested in learning more about becoming a reviewer? (checkbox)
Mentorship: If your submission is accepted, would you like a mentor?

Note that this conference is a hybrid event and posters will be published via the online conference programme for remote participants to view. Remote participants will also be able to attend the poster lightning talks. It is expected that the posters and lightning talks should provide a comparable experience for online and in-person participants (guidance will be provided for accepted submissions). Speakers will be asked to respond to any questions that are submitted via the conference’s digital questions platform.

Poster guidelines

We want to make sure that all posters are as engaging and accessible as possible. If your proposal is accepted, please follow the below guidelines when designing your poster.

Format

The poster boards are 923 x 1810 mm, therefore the poster should be:

A0 sized (841 x 1188 mm)
Portrait orientation preferred

Audience and outcomes

You should also consider the following:

Your target audience
- Would your audience require any prerequisite knowledge to understand your poster?
- What information could you include to make your poster accessible to as wide an audience as possible?
Core message
- What is the core message of your poster?
Learning outcomes
- What do you expect your audience to gain/learn from viewing your poster?

Ensuring readability

Please ensure your poster’s content is accessible (see the “Accessibility guidelines for content” section of the conference’s accessibility guidance). Some key pieces to consider are:

Visually, have you considered the colours chosen as well as the shape and size of graphics and fonts?
You can also use automated accessibility checking tools to help ensure that you haven’t missed anything.
Use clear, accessible, sans-serif fonts.
(e.g. Tahoma, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana)
Legible text should be
- 24pt+ for text
- 48pt+ for titles
Use an accessible colour palette that makes your content clear and easy to read for everyone.

At the conference

Posters will be displayed in a designated area, which will be open to all attendees for the duration of the conference. Successful applicants will be asked to meet the Poster Chair in the designated space on the morning of day 1 of the conference to set up the posters.

You will need to print your poster and bring it to the conference venue.
We will provide boards, hanging materials etc.

Additionally, the following events will take place:

Lightning talks

Lightning Talks will take place during one of the plenary sessions. Each presenter can choose to provide a brief summary of the content of their poster to conference attendees. You may prepare a maximum of three slides for your lightning talk, but it is not required. Exact timings will depend on the number of submissions and will be communicated closer to the conference.

Poster session

There will be a dedicated Poster Session, where each presenter will be expected to be beside their poster for the duration to answer questions and discuss the content of the poster. This session is expected to last for approximately one hour.

Judging and prizes

Posters will be judged based on the following criteria, and prizes will be awarded to the posters with the highest combined scores:

Best presentation, considering:
- Creative use of artwork/images/graphs/visualisations
- Logical flow and layout
- Clarity, readability and accessibility
Novelty and contribution to its respective field
(Conference theme) Contributions to/Best example of DRI
Public Vote – all conference attendees will be allowed to vote for their favourite poster, which will contribute towards the final score.

The deadline for submissions is 23:59 BST on 25 April 2025.