Presenter Guidelines and Information

UTC Spring Research and Arts Conference

Note: Due to construction in the UTC University Center, the 2026 conference will be held in McKenzie Arena. Presentation formats will include posters, arts displays, and a limited number of oral presentations. The number of oral presentations will be limited due to space limitations in the arena.

The UTC Spring Research and Arts Conference will be held on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 in McKenzie Arena. The event showcases the research and creative works of UTC undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and staff. Presentation formats include posters, arts displays, and a limited number of oral presentations. Non-UTC students and community members are also invited to present. The event is free and open to the public.

Key Dates

General Presenter Eligibility Requirements

UTC undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and staff in all disciplines may participate. Recent UTC graduates, non-UTC students, and community members are also invited to present research/creative projects.

Presenter Eligibility Requirements for UTC Undergraduate and Graduate Students

To present research/creative works at the conference, UTC undergraduate and graduate students must…

• Be working under the supervision of a UTC faculty mentor/advisor who is directing the project.
• Have obtained clearance from the UTC Institutional Review Board before conducting research involving human subjects/participants.
• Have obtained clearance from the UTC Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee before conducting research involving vertebrate animals.
• Have completed the required IBC Registration Update Form before conducting research involving recombinant nucleic acid molecules.
• Be currently enrolled, degree-seeking students in good academic and judicial standing at the time of abstract submission and presentation.
• Have an active UTC email address and UTC student ID.

Presentation Formats

Conference presenters may select from the following presentation formats.

1. Poster Presentations:
   • Conference presenters are solely responsible for creating, printing, purchasing, and bringing posters with them to the conference. Display boards and pins for display will be provided at the conference. Contact conference coordinators for printing resources ([email protected]).
   • Due to space limitations, printed posters must be sized to the following specifications: 3 feet (36 inches) height x 4 feet (48 inches) width.
   • Please use the provided poster template (template will become available late fall) or make sure to size your poster file accordingly during the design process. If you do NOT know how to size the poster file, contact the conference coordinators ([email protected]) for assistance.
   • If the research was conducted under a protocol that was approved by the Institutional Review Board (for projects involving human subjects/participants) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (for projects involving vertebrate animals), make sure to note the IRB or IACUC protocol number on the poster.
   • NOTE: The conference display boards are 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Posters printed larger than these dimensions will NOT fit on the provided display boards. If you have questions/issues about the poster specifications, please contact the conference coordinators ([email protected]).
2. Oral Presentations:
   Note: Due to construction in the UTC University Center, the 2026 conference will be held in McKenzie Arena. Due to space limitations in the arena, the number of oral presentations will be limited. Every effort will be made to accommodate as many oral presentations as possible, but conference organizers cannot guarantee that all oral presentation requests will be granted.
   • This format option includes the traditional “academic talk” accompanied by slides.
   • Presenters who would like to share an art video project, journalistic video project, or similar presentation should choose the oral presentation option.
   • Due to time and space constraints, oral presentations will run no more than 15 minutes in length including questions. We suggest preparing a 10-12 minute talk to allow ample time for questions.
   • Slide decks and other presentation materials should be stored in multiple formats including jump drives, cloud storage, and/or email to ensure accessibility.
   • After checking in at the conference, and receiving their presentation room location, oral presenters will load slide decks (and/or other visual components) onto computers in the assigned presentation rooms. NOTE: Oral presenters will receive their presentation room locations during conference check-in.
   • Download a UTC branded Oral PowerPoint presentation template:
     • Templates will become available late fall
3. Arts Display Presentations
   • Conference presenters displaying works such as painting, photography, journalistic photography, or similar should choose the arts display format option within the presenter submission form.
   • Display boards (3 feet tall and 4 feet wide), artist tape/mounting putty/pins will be provided for display.
   • Heavy paintings will be displayed on easels.

Steps for Presenting Your Research/Creative Project at the Conference

1. Submit the presenter submission form. The presenter submission form deadline is 11:00 pm on Sunday, February 22, 2026. Access the presenter submission form link in the How to Apply section below (link will become available in December 2025).
2. Watch your e-mail for a message from the conference organizers. The message will be sent in early March and will include the time you are scheduled to present your research/creative project during the conference. It will also include the conference check-in location and other details. Please save this message for reference.
3. Prepare your presentation materials.
   • If you are presenting a poster, you will need to create your poster using the appropriately sized template (template will become available for download late fall), print your poster, and bring it with you to the conference. Display boards and pins for display will be provided at the conference.
   • If you are presenting an oral presentation, you will need to create a slide deck using the appropriately sized template (template will become available for download late fall) and bring the slide deck with you to the conference. Slide decks and other presentation materials should be stored in multiple formats including jump drives, cloud storage, and/or email to ensure accessibility.
4. Submit presentation materials (poster file OR slide decks) to the Symposium portal by 11:00 pm on Wednesday, April 8, 2026. See more information about the ForagerOne by Symposium online portal below.
5. Present the research project at the conference on April 15, 2026!  

Abstracts/Project Descriptions

Regardless of the format, a well-written abstract or project description is also required (400 word maximum). This document will be displayed with presentation materials on the Symposium portal and will be published in the conference abstract document.

Abstracts (or descriptions) should contain the following information:

1. A brief introduction to the project/subject area
2. A hypothesis, project goal, or specific aim
3. A brief description of the methods used to address the aim/goal
4. Results
5. Conclusions or Impact Statement regarding the body of work.

 Download the Abstract Preparation Guide

Need help writing your abstract? Contact the Office for URaCE.

Detailed information about copyright and fair use may be found on the UTC Library Copyright and Fair Use Information page.  It is recommended that you meet with a librarian for questions related to copyright and fair use. 

For more information about research and intellectual property contact [email protected].

Research Compliance Requirements

Research that involves human subjects/participants or vertebrate animals typically requires oversight from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) respectively. Research that was conducted without the appropriate IRB or IACUC review and clearance cannot be presented at the conference.

• If your research was conducted in accordance with an approved IRB or IACUC protocol, please note the protocol number in your presentation materials.
• If your research involves recombinant nucleic acid molecules, please be sure you have completed the required IBC Registration Update Form.

Symposium by ForagerOne

The 2026 UTC Spring Research and Arts Conference will be held in person at the UTC McKenzie Arena. However, presenters are required to upload presentation materials (poster files, slide decks) to the ForagerOne by Symposium online portal by 11:00 pm on Wednesday, April 8, 2026.

* Why are we asking presenters to upload to the portal? All presentations submitted to the portal will be archived online, and the conference abstract program will be generated by the portal. A copy of the program will be available on the conference website.

Symposium by ForagerOne Media Options

On the materials submission form, you will select from the following two options:

Media Option 1: Upload a PDF of the poster or oral (slide deck) presentation

If you are presenting a poster or oral presentation at the conference, and you would like to upload your poster file or oral presentation slide deck ONLY, select this option. The poster or slide deck presentation file must be saved as a PDF file. The PDF file must not exceed 10MB. Use Smallpdf.com or another online tool to compress your file if necessary.

NOTE: If you select this media option, you may also upload a video to accompany the poster or slide deck presentation. This is completely OPTIONAL.

Media Option 2: Video/Screencast only 

If you would like to share a video presentation, slide deck screencast, or performance (3-15 minutes) without a poster file or slide deck, select this option. 

NOTE: If you select this option, you will NOT upload the video or screencast file; rather, you will record the video and upload the media file to YouTube. Please make the YouTube video settings UNLISTED**. You will include the link to the YouTube video within the submission form.

See presentation examples from the 2025 conference.

Copyright Information

• Presentation materials uploaded to the Symposium portal will be available on the internet. Before you upload materials to the portal, make certain that you are familiar with copyright laws and intellectual property protocols.
• Detailed information about copyright and fair use may be found on the UTC Library Copyright and Fair Use Information page.
• It is recommended you meet with a librarian for questions about fair use. For more information about research and intellectual property, contact [email protected].
• Questions? Please contact the conference coordinators at [email protected].

How to Apply

The presenter form will become available in December 2025.