Organizing a Student Poster Session in an ASEE Section Conference

Student poster sessions at conferences can be valuable experiences for undergraduate and graduate students and can enrich the conference program for all participants. Student poster presentations beyond the local campus can provide additional experience in professional communication (especially in preparing succinct abstracts and in effective visual design), can prepare students for future conference participations, and can facilitate student-faculty interaction. Several issues exist when including student poster sessions in engineering education conferences. How can the content of posters be related to an engineering education theme? How are communication principles of audience and purpose incorporated into the session guidelines and review process? What approaches facilitate student participation? What roles do faculty advisors have? The organization of a student poster component at section ASEE conferences is described including session objectives, submission process, acceptance criteria, best-poster rubrics, and suggestions for future implementation. Lessons learned during two years of hosting such as poster session are highlighted especially with regard to the abstract and poster evaluation rubrics. The approach seeks to disseminate existing student project work, to involve students in formal review and revision processes, and to recognize the role of faculty advisors.