DSC Intertext Symposium 2021

We are excited to announce that for this year’s DSC Intertext Symposium, the Keynote presentation will be a Panel session on the topic, ‘COVID Impact on Research'. Our panel guests are four speakers:

• Dr Emily Gray, RMIT Researcher, Supervisor and DA for HDR Students in the School of Education.
• Alexandra Ciaffaglione, PhD candidate and DSC HDR Student Representative
• Associate Professor Catherine Gomes, RMIT Researcher and Academic, School of Media and Communication
• Associate Professor Robyn Barnacle, Research and Innovation in the School of Graduate Research

Many HDR students had to pivot their research or change their methodology due to COVID on the ability to conduct their research.

Registration is free via EventBrite

Who should attend?

HDR candidates and supervisors

Location and Symposium format

This year the symposium will be held online on the 4 - 6 October 2021. Presenters will pre-record their presentations and upload them to Canvas where all symposium attendees will be able to view and engage with the presentations. Live sessions will take place daily, where an academic chair and referee will facilitate a Q&A with the presenters and wider audience.

Important dates

Presentation information

The time limit per presenter is 5-7 minutes. Presentations can be recorded using either a mobile phone or Canvas Studio. Recordings done using a mobile phone will need to be uploaded to Canvas Studio. For those presenters who feel confident and would like to acquire new skills, Canvas Studio has editing functions where presentations can be further refined and improved. See the Useful links section for more information.

Theory

Good academic presentations can often be ruined when too much time is spent on theory at the outset. A conference presentation, unlike a thesis, does not require a long methodological introduction/theoretical contextualization of your case study. A short paragraph on theory/research method will suffice before moving on to analyse the material you want to discuss. Lengthy quotes from well-known (or even obscure) theorists only distract; delegates want to know what you think about your topic. If your presentation is aimed at engaging in a constructive dialogue with a previous theory, you will need to expound briefly on the theory you wish to discuss and then proceed as soon as possible to articulate your own ideas on the subject. Again, delegates want to know what you think about your topic, and you have only 7 minutes to do this. Following these guidelines will ensure that your presentation will impress, engage and make an impact on your audience.

Using slides

To keep the presentation engaging and coherent slides should be used as a complement to the verbal portion of the presentation.

• Keep it simple, use 1 slide per topic
• Use key words or sentences the audience need to take away from that slide
• Keep to a consisten theme across your presentation
• Stick to a maximum of 6 points per slide and ensure that it is not too text heavy. For example, each bullet point should be brief.
• Avoid complicated models – if the model has no simpler version or cannot be simplified, do not use a title, have the image on its own in the slide so it is large enough for the audience to make it out clearly
• Use images to help the audience make sense of the subject
•  Keep the theme and graphics consistent.

Presenting

The key to a successful presentation is having an interesting story to tell so presenters should consider how to formulate their presentation in a manner that will have a beginning, middle and an end. Consider the coherency and the flow of the transitions between the sections. Although the recording might be done sitting down, consider how to still use effective body language to keep the audience engaged with the presentation. Finally, practice delivering the presentation in front of a mirror, consider your facial expressions, voice, intonation and maybe even introducing silence for impact.

Often an abstract proposes to cover too much material for a 7-minute presentation. For the presentation itself, it is very important to concentrate on one idea/argument, illustrated by preferably one to two examples. Video or audio examples should be avoided or limited to under 1.5 minutes. Keep in mind that this is an interdisciplinary symposium and sessions will include presenters and audience members from a variety of subject backgrounds. You will need to clarify any content-specific technical terms and make sure that you explain key concepts in lay language.

Presenters need to keep in mind that although the presentation is pre-recorded, there is an audience behind the camera. Memorising the presentation and keeping eye contact with the audience by looking directly at the camera is a powerful way to keep an audience engaged. Canvas Studio has the capacity to record both through a webcam and screen capture at the same time, this is a great tool to give the presentation a more dynamic feel.

Useful links

Canvas studio

• dsctal.space website  - Highly recommended
• SISTER - Studio - the powerful screen capture / video recording tool in Canvas 
• SISTER - Canvas Studio for screencasting and webcam together 
• SISTER - Canvas Studio captions

Giving presentations

• Harvard Business Review - How to give a killer presentation - Recommended
• TEDBlod - 10 tips for better slide decks  - Recommended
• TED - Chris Anderson - Secrets to great public speaking

Symposium organisers

This symposium is organised by Higher Degree by Research Candidates supported by the College of Design and Social Context. We have developed an FAQs page where more information about the symposium can be found.

Contact

Please direct all enquiries to dsc.intertext@rmit.edu.au

We look forward to seeing you at the DSC Intertext 2021 symposium!

Role of the Chairperson

• Each presenter has uploaded a pre-recorded presentation of approximately 5-7 minutes, which will be available for viewing online prior to the event. The primary role of the Chairperson will be to facilitate the interactive online panel discussion, involving the presenters, referees and attendees.
• Please start the session with an acknowledgement of country
• Allow each presenter to introduce themselves to the audience with their name and the title of their presentation. 
• Please introduce yourself and ask the referees of the session to do the same.
• You might start by giving each presenter a few minutes to give a very brief overview of their presentation. This should be succinct and not more than 5 minutes. You may need to give a one minute warning sign to let the presenter know that their time is almost up (this can be in the form of a "hands up" function). 
• After the presenter has given a brief overview of their presentation, you can invite the referee to ask a question/ provide some feedback. 
• After all presenters have had an opportunity to give their overview and respond to the referee, you can open up for a Q&A with the wider audience. This could be in the final 10 minutes of your session. If necessary, encourage audience members to continue their discussion after the session has concluded.  

Role of the Referee/s

• The primary role of the referee is to  give feedback/ pose questions to the presenters. Given this is an interdisciplinary symposium, the presenters will come from a variety of subject backgrounds. We do not expect you to have a thorough understanding of their topic, but rather you might offer insight into their methodology, the framing of their research questions, the way they have communicated their research, or any insights that you might be able to offer from your own disciplinary background.
• Abstracts for the presentations will be available before the event, and sent directly to you. We’ll also send you a link to be able to watch the pre-recorded presentations for your sessions before the online panel discussion. 
• After each presenter has given a brief overview of their presentation, you can provide some feedback/ pose a question. Please make sure to allow enough time for each presenter in the session to get the opportunity to hear from you.
• At the end of the session, there will be time for a Q&A with the wider audience, facilitated by the Chairperson. In the absence of audience questions, you may also ask the presenters some questions to help facilitate discussion.

Library Research Services

The library provides services and resources to meet a range of research and writing support needs you may have through the different stages of your research candidature or career. The library offers individual consultations and online resources.  

HDR candidates and researchers intending to publish or present at a conference may find the following library services and resources of assistance:

• To get advice and assistance on writing for publication and strategic publishing visit our online guide on Strategic Publishing.
• To raise your profile by getting an ORCID iD visit our Researcher profiles and ORCID IDs guide.
• To get advice on sharing and re-using research data visit our Research data management guide.
•  Attend workshops and short courses on workshops and webinars for researchers on research writing, research strategy, publishing, profiles and impact and more.
• Book a research consultation.
• Receive feedback on presentations prior to the symposia with one of our Academic Skills Advisors. Book via our Research Consultation form.

The full range of Library Research Services are available from the Library website

School of Graduate Research

We lead RMIT’s commitment to enhancing research training and ensuring it embraces innovation and diversity for our postgraduate research candidates and supervisors.

What we do

The School of Graduate Research fosters a vibrant research-training culture that engages Higher Degree by Research (HDR) candidates and helps them produce new knowledge in their chosen field.

Our people

Led by Professor Denise Cuthbert, the School of Graduate Research supports high-quality research training at RMIT through teams:

• Research Training Services
•  HDR Strategy & Policy

We work collaboratively with Schools, Colleges, supervisors and representatives to ensure a high-quality research experience for HDR candidates and supervisors.