The Challenge
Give an engaging presentation about your research and its impact in a manner accessible to an audience of non-experts.
Overview
The Research Live! competition will take place in two parts. Students will first participate in a preliminary round by recording a video of themselves giving their presentation and submitting it to the Graduate College through the process outlined below. A panel of preliminary round judges will recommend student to advance to the finals round.
If selected for the finals round, students will give their presentation live and be judged by the finals judges at the Research Live! Finalist Showcase. Finalists will have the opportunity to revise their presentation and receive coaching based on feedback from the preliminary round judges.
Eligibility
Students must be enrolled in a degree-seeking program that fall under the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Graduate College (certificates, masters degrees, and doctoral degrees). Professional degree students (MD, DMV, and JD) are ineligible to participate. Students must be registered and in good standing during the semester of the competition. Previous participants are welcome to enter again provided they enter with different material. Only one entry can be submitted per student.
Requirements
- All Research Live! entries should be submitted in three parts:
- completion of the online registration form
- a single video recording of your presentation, uploaded to a Box folder linked in the registration form
- a single PowerPoint slide, uploaded to a Box folder linked in the registration form
Video
- Participants should submit one continuous, unedited video recording of themselves delivering their presentation that includes no more than three (3) minutes of speaking. We understand the video recording may last longer by a few seconds, but the presentation portion should not extend beyond three minutes.
- No other person should be seen or heard in the recording unless the participant has requested and received a written exception from the Graduate College.
- Your slide should not be included or seen in the video recording, meaning you do not need to show or share your slide in the recording.
- Recordings must be submitted in either .mp4 or .wav file types.
Slide
- Participants should submit one PowerPoint slide (16x9 dimensions) separately.
- The slide may only include text and still images. No animation, video, or sound files are permitted.
- Participants do not need to include their name or title of their presentation on the slide.
- The slide must be prepared by the submitter.
Props
- If invited to participate in the final round, participants must receive permission from the Graduate College for the use of any props.
Other Requirements
- Only one entry can be submitted per student.
- Previous participants are welcome to enter again provided they enter with different material.
- Any entry that does not satisfy the rules listed in this section will be disqualified.
If you have any questions about how to submit your entry for the competition, please email gradsuccess@illinois.edu