9 Types of Conference Participation

Different ways of participating in academic conferences require different amounts of participation and preparation. Presentations are both good CV lines that usually qualify you to apply for funding to attend from your department; participation in a conference as a non-presenting attendee is not typically included on your CV but can be a good opportunity to learn more about what other researchers in your field are doing, and to connect with colleagues from other institutions. Generally, if you are applying to present at a conference you will be asked to specify which of the following formats your work will take:

• Poster Presentations: Presenting a poster typically entails summarizing your work in limited space and using a combination of text and images. Most conferences will have designated “Poster Sessions” where attendees are encouraged to explore the posters, and where you will be asked to stay next to your poster to explain or present it. Sometimes these sessions may be juried.
• Oral Presentations: Oral presentations typically last between 10-20 minutes and include time for questions and answers from the audience. Disciplinary norms will vary but PowerPoint Presentations may be included, or expected, as a complement to your spoken comments.

In general, your work can only be presented at an academic conference in the same form once, so be sure to strategically consider how to divide or package your research projects with this in mind.