The Undergraduate Poster Showcase 2023: Gather with us!
Office of Science Education Student Engagement Administrator Ezelbahar Metin and Communications Assistant Bhavya Bhushan sat down with presenters to discuss the upcoming Undergraduate Poster Showcase. This year, the highly-anticipated hybrid event will be hosted on March 15, 6-8 PM ET in the University Centre (SSMU) Ballroom and via livestream. Register here to attend: https://mcgillups.eventbrite.com/
Every March, the McGill community gathers to celebrate student work at the Office of Science Education’s hallmark event: The Undergraduate Poster Showcase. Adopting an official “The Show Must Go On” policy, we hosted the 2022 Undergraduate Poster Showcase on Zoom and undergraduate student presenters shared their work to an audience of McGill students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends and family around the world. This year, there is a growing sense of anticipation and excitement, as the 2023 Undergraduate Poster Showcase returns to in-person after two years. With the prospect of finally being able to gather in one physical space and share ideas face-to-face, we’re hopeful that this year’s Showcase will be an unforgettable celebration of knowledge, discovery, and innovation.
We first sat down with Laura Meng, a now four-time presenter at the Undergraduate Poster Showcase who has presented both in-person and on Zoom. Laura shared her enthusiasm for the upcoming Showcase: "I’m pretty excited for it to go back to in-person... When I was in-person last time it was just really nice to meet the other presenters and ask them questions... It makes you feel closer to the community for sure." Laura also talked about how she was repeatedly amazed by the research her peers were conducting: “It just makes you realize how there’s so much going on in research... [When I was looking at the posters online last two years] I was blown away by some of the research that some of the students had done on COVID because they were just really leading the way [in COVID research at the time].”
We also chatted with Naomi Askenazi, a first-time presenter at the Showcase. Naomi was very enthusiastic about the learning opportunities that the Showcase offers: “I’m thrilled about the mentorship especially, and the workshops are a very useful tool, I’m looking forward to those… I think the next time I have to present at a poster showcase it’s just going to feel like a breeze.” Naomi is also one of the Showcase presenters who will be adding a creative element to her poster: “I’m a visual learner myself so I think it really helps to see something instead of just hear or read about it... I think a creative aesthetic element [brings] the whole project together.”
Last, we met with Benjamin Rudski, a presenter turned mentor who has been participating in the Showcase since 2021. He talked very fondly of his experience mentoring last year, sharing that he was “really looking forward to being able to connect with [the presenters], interact with them one-on-one and ask them questions in a more casual poster presentation format.”
Interested in learning more about Naomi’s or Laura’s work? Be sure to attend the Undergraduate Poster Showcase on March 15th to check out their presentations and more amazing work done by McGill’s undergraduate students! Register to attend in-person or by livestream here: https://mcgillups.eventbrite.com/.