The 12th annual Undergraduate Symposium at Northern Arizona University is offering a virtual showcase in place of in-person presentations. Students can submit their presentations to an online gallery that will be available for viewing April 20-24. This decision was made after thoughtful consideration and monitoring of the current environment by the Provost’s Office and the 2020 Undergraduate Symposium Planning Committee.
The traditional symposium is a campus-wide celebration of students who share their academic achievements and ongoing research. The virtual platform expands the scope of NAU students eligible to participate.
“I look forward to the fact that a virtual symposium now makes this signature event accessible to any NAU student with internet access,” Tina Zecher, assistant director of undergraduate research and event organizer, said. “Students who are normally not able to participate because of travel, schedules or other obstacles can now submit a project in the next couple of weeks and receive feedback on their work from faculty, staff and community members.”
The virtual showcase offers students an opportunity to present their work in a new way. Students will be able to upload poster and oral presentations along with images of creative works or exhibits. To help explain the work, students are encouraged to upload an accompanying video.
From April 20 until April 24, judges will remotely access the title, abstract and uploaded material. Feedback will be provided using the same rubrics used at the in-person event and students can access the comments on April 27. Arrangements also are being made for Zoom meetings to facilitate deeper discussions and networking.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to exemplify the meaning of OneNAU and come together as a community to show that research and scholarly work at NAU will persevere through these trying times,” Zecher said.
The virtual event is available for public viewing. Students concerned about their work being downloaded outside the NAU community can opt to have public access blocked when they register. Professors requiring the symposium for class or for extra credit will be able to search for their students’ work or request a registration report.
To accommodate the change in format, the registration deadline for students has been extended to Sunday, April 5. Presentation uploads must be completed by Friday, April 17. Questions should be directed to the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity at ug-research@nau.edu.