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Student Poster Competition

Enter the bonus round by submitting your research for the chance to be recognized with an SLAS Student Poster Award.
The SLAS Student Poster Award recognises innovative research by students, graduate students, post-doctoral associates and junior faculty (less than four years in first academic appointment) who are chosen to present a poster at the SLAS Europe 2020 Conference and Exhibition.
The Top 3 winners will receive a cash award of €250 each. The poster award ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 3 June in the SLAS Booth.

Judging Panel

The judging panel is comprised of individuals selected by the SLAS Student Poster Award Judging Panel Chair and formally approved by the SLAS Awards and Grants Committee. These judges represent the various technologies and applications within the SLAS conference curriculum.
Judges may not have or have had any formal association with the candidate poster assigned to them for review. Judges must recuse themselves from evaluating any candidate wherein there exists a relationship such as family, business, financial or other, e.g. academic, student/professional association. Judges must sign a conflict of interest certification form ensuring no improper relationships exist. It is expected that any potential conflicts are declared by the judges. The Student Poster Award Judging Panel Chair makes the final decision on any questionable issues.

Presentation Evaluation Timeline

Abstract Submission Deadline:6 April 2020
Poster Image Upload Deadline:4 May 2020
Student Poster Judging at SLAS Europe 2020:3 June 2020

Many candidates for the award are chosen to present at the SLAS Europe Conference and Exhibition as part of the SLAS Tony B. Academic Travel Award Programme. Selection of the recipients of the Tony B. Academic Travel Award is based on several factors and is overseen by the SLAS Awards and Grants Committee. Candidates need not be Tony B. Award recipients to participate in the SLAS Student Poster Award Programme.

Candidate Selection

The SLAS Student Poster Judging Panel reviews all qualifying poster presentations from the abstracts received in response to the Call for Abstracts. To qualify for entry into the SLAS Europe 2020 Student Poster Award, the author must opt in for consideration using the appropriate check box during the abstract submission process.

Judging Process

Candidates for the award are asked to upload their poster online for review and judging by Monday, 4 May 2020. Presenters must meet this pre-screening submission deadline in order to be eligible for the award. The award Chair will assign each judge a pre-determined number of posters to view and judge using an online review site.

The pre-conference panel of judges will narrow the field (based on scores submitted as per the criteria below) to five (5) posters to compete for the award at SLAS Europe 2020. Each of the top five (5) authors will be notified of their standing prior to SLAS Europe 2020.

In scoring the posters the judges will consider the following:

Pre-Conference Phase

Poster Design:

  • Organisation: Is the poster content organised in a logical manner, such that experimental problem, approach and results are easily understood?
  • Layout: Is the poster layout, look and feel well done? Does the presenter use appropriate font sizes, readable graphics, suitable colours, etc.?

Poster Content:

  • Motivation/Background: Does the poster present sufficient context for the reader to understand the purpose and originality of the experiment as well as the background and motivation for performing the experiment?
  • Approach: Does the poster present sufficient data on the experimental methods used for the reader to understand and judge the quality of the approach?
  • Discussion: Does the poster demonstrate an understanding of the selected methods and technologies in the context of the state-of-the-art? Presenter should provide appropriate statistics.
  • Conclusion: Does the poster present sufficient information and data to support the conclusion of the poster?

Judging of Presentations

The on-site panel of judges will view and score the top five (5) posters during the student poster session on Thursday, 4 June 2020. The panel of judges will have a set amount of time to visit each poster and move on to the next poster. This will include a question-and-answer period. Presenters will be notified of the approximate time the judges will visit each poster and of the time constraints of the on-site presentation. Each of the top five (5) presenters is required to remain at their poster for the duration of the poster session in order to be eligible for the award. Once the on-site panel of judges has determined the three winners, the Student Poster Award Chair will notify the winners in-person and provide details regarding the award ceremony.

Each candidate will be judged on the same criteria as listed below. In scoring the presentations the judges will consider the following:

On-site Phase

Poster Presentation:

  • Timely Presentation: Did the presenter explain the key concept(s) of the poster within the time allowed?
  • Content: Was the poster content presented clearly and concisely in a way that enhanced understanding of the written poster content? (Rather than just a verbatim reading of the poster itself.)
  • Questions and Answers: Did the presenter satisfactorily answer questions from the judges within the time allowed?
  • Overall Presentation: Was the presenter able to keep the judges’ attention during the presentation and was the presentation easily understood? Did the presenter show an appropriate level of enthusiasm for the research?

Rules and Regulations

Candidates are encouraged to be dues-paying members of SLAS to participate in the contest and/or win the SLAS Student Poster Award; however, membership is not required.

Candidates must be the primary author of a selected poster abstract and must present their research during SLAS Europe 2020.

Candidates must be a student, graduate student, post-doctoral associate or junior faculty (less than four years in first academic appointment.) Tony B. Academic Travel Award winners presenting a poster will automatically be entered into the competition, but candidates are not required to have been selected for a Tony B. Academic Travel Award to qualify for the SLAS Student Poster Award.

The panel of judges will review only those poster presentations selected and slotted for the conference by the Annual Conference Programme Committee and submitted online for pre-screening by the published deadline. All candidates must adhere to the SLAS Abstract Submission policies, timelines, rules and regulations1.

The following individuals are not eligible to participate in the SLAS Student Poster Award programme:

  • SLAS Board of Directors, officers, the Scientific Program Committee*, contractors, employees, members of the Judging Panel, and/or those considered to be “insiders.”
  • Candidates affiliated with anyone on the judging panel are permitted to participate, but the judge must recuse him or herself from evaluating that particular candidate.

*The SLAS Europe 2020 Conference Programme Committee comprises Conference Chairs and Session Chairs.

1Abstract Submission Policy
SLAS invites academicians, scientists, and post-doctoral and graduate students to submit abstracts poster presentations for this international educational forum. Presentations will be hand-picked by the SLAS Scientific Program Committee. Rules, regulations and guidelines are subject to change at the discretion of the SLAS Board of Directors in accordance with bylaws, policies and procedures.

Monetary Disbursement

The cash prizes will be awarded on the day of the SLAS Student Poster Session assigned to the SLAS Student Poster Award presentations.

The following rules apply:

  • The candidate presentation author, co-author, or a representative must be present to accept the award at the poster award ceremony (see full schedule). The cash prize is awarded solely to the winning presenting author.
  • Prior to receiving the check, each winner will be required to fill out any appropriate tax forms.
  • Winners have the option to decline the monetary award.
  • The monetary award is not to be considered an obligation of SLAS.

Non-Discrimination Statement

Discrimination based on race, religion, gender, age, national origin, ethnicity, veteran’s status, or disability in regard to the SLAS Student Poster Award is prohibited. Each candidate shall be evaluated based on the award’s criteria, which are tied to the SLAS express purpose of advancing the science and education of technologies in the laboratory.

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