All students may apply to present at the Ruhlman Conference. Attentive to the diversity of student interest and accomplishment, the Ruhlman Conference will include a variety of formats for the presentation of student work: papers, panels, posters, exhibitions, musical and theatrical performances, and readings of original work.

All student applicants to Ruhlman must have a Wellesley Ruhlman advisor to review your abstract and/or poster to help you prepare for your presentation. Who should you choose to serve in this role? The best choice is often someone familiar with your research project, your interests and your goals. Ask a faculty or staff member who is aware of your experience and can offer you time and support.

All applicants (individuals, panels, and posters) must submit an abstract of up to 150 words . Carefully review your abstract for typographical errors, punctuation, and grammar.

The abstract should answers the following questions:

• What was the focus of your research or project?
• What did this experience teach?
• How does this experience relate to your past or future academic, social and/or professional goals?
• What do you hope those who attend your presentation will learn?

All Ruhlman participants are eligible to enter the The Jacqueline Fowler ’49 Public Speaking Prize. The competition will take place in two rounds. In the first round, participants will submit a 3-minute video presentation of an abstract of their Ruhlman project, intended for an interested non-expert audience. The judging of the final round will be based on the finalists' actual Ruhlman presentations, which will be designated in the program and scheduled so that the judges can attend all of them. The winner will be announced and the prize will be awarded at the reception at the end of the day.

2021 Poster Forms are due April 29th. Research posters at professional conferences often present "work in progress". The researchers present the framing of the project and workflow to date in order to get feedback from their peers that can help guide next steps in the project. This year Ruhlman is encouraging the submission of both works-in-progress posters as well as posters that present a more completed project. Guidelines for both submissions will be the same. The Ruhlman Committee hopes this explicit change will encourage students engaged in ongoing course based research and independent study to consider submitting a poster this year.

It is strongly suggested that all poster submission be in PowerPoint. Videos shown in a browser or external software may have a stutter or the possibility of freezing up. If you have the MP4 or MOV video files you can use Zoom's advanced video share feature. But, the Ruhlman Committee would prefer you limit your submissions to PowerPoint presentations.

Types of Presentations (Important Note: Due to scheduling constraints, students may take part in a maximum of one primary/individual presentation, one class/group presentation, and one poster presentation.)

• Talk (5 minute presentation on Zoom) An individual student gives an oral presentation about some original research they have conducted. Please note the committee will schedule all 5-minute "Talks" with related types of presentations to create a panel with a connected theme. If you are part of a 40 minute pre-formed panel discussion, see Pre-formed Panel Discussion below.
• Short Performance (10 minute Zoom presentation) An individual or group of students presents a short musical or theatrical piece.
• Film Screening (10 minute Zoom presentation) An individual or group of students presents an original film or video.
• Literary Reading (10 minute Zoom presentation) An individual student reads an original text, typically a series of poems or part of a short story.
• Pre-formed Panel Discussion (40-minute group Zoom presentation) A minimum of 4 students and maximum of 9 together to discuss the same topic. Participants are either members of a class or have joined together to prepare material that will last for an entire 40 minutes. Please make sure only one member in the group fills out the application to prevent duplication.
• Exhibition (40 minute Zoom presentation) an individual student presents original artwork in the form of drawings, paintings, sculpture, photos, etc. Presenters remain with their exhibits during the scheduled 40-minute session in order to help visitors understand the visually presented material.
• Long Performance (40 minute Zoom presentation) A group of students presents a musical or theatrical piece.

The best presentations have a clear focus and an obvious sense of purpose, as well as substantive content.

• Provide framing. Be sure to begin by briefly orienting your listener to the project and your role in it.

• Be selective. Focus on one or two points about the work you did and the field you participated in, and illustrate these points with concrete examples and detail. If you are working with a panel of presenters, plan ways to distribute your focus amongst the panel members, and to make connections between the different approaches each of you takes. Consider the following questions to find your focus:

  • What is the most significant aspect of this project that you want to convey?

  • What was the most surprising and unexpected aspect of the work you did?

  • How did your perceptions of the field, work, topic, or people shift as a result of your experience?

  • What did you learn about your field?

  • What did you learn about yourself?

Plan to use your presentation to further your own learning. What do you want to record and remember about this experience? What do you want to be sure you don’t forget? What about your own learning will be meaningful to others?

• Time your practice session. Each session is 40 minutes in length with 4-9 presenters. If you are part of panel, please time your presentation so that all panelists have equal opportunity to speak. Individual presentations are approximately 5-10 minutes. The number of panelist determines the length of the presentation.

• Plan ample time to work with your advisor and your fellow panel presenters.

• All presentations will be on Zoom, prior to your presentation review your technology for any updates.