A Classroom-free Academic Day
Showcase is designed to be a classroom-free academic day, which means in-class activity is suspended so students are free all day to present their work and attend others' presentations.
Since most of the Showcase activities will require use of classrooms typically occupied from about 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on a Wednesday, observing the day as a classroom-free academic day will help free up needed space in key areas (such as the Lecture Centers and other Podium classrooms).
Additional information about the Showcase Day will be shared here as it becomes available. In the meantime, we hope you will hold April 30, 2025, on your syllabus so that your students — and you — can participate in the full day of offerings.
Faculty Testimonials
"I love getting to learn about student research from across the University, so I was happy to spend considerable time in the poster halls at the Lecture Center.”
"It was neat to see the students so engaged in their projects and with each other's projects. This is a great event and opportunity for students to showcase what they have been working hard on.”
"Seeing the students present their work with confidence and pride — the event is a great opportunity for them to realize their voices matter.”
"I loved working with my students on the project, and they really enjoyed it as well. It was also wonderful to see some of my students presenting work from other courses. I think it truly fosters a strong sense of community on campus."
“For undergraduate and graduate students, Showcase is a time to show off all the hard work that they’ve put in during the year. For faculty, it is a moment to be proud of the tremendous progress that students have made.”
Encourage Student Participation
Showcase Day is a University-wide event similar to a department symposium or research showcase. Both graduate and undergraduate students are encouraged to participate through poster or oral presentations and lab or other research demonstrations.
Student presenters will benefit from the experience of presenting their research, adding to their resumes and demonstrating their achievements.
Presenters will be asked to provide a title and abstract that will be included in the Showcase Day program. They also will have the cost of printing their research poster covered by the event, if applicable.
Students working on projects as part of a class, lab group, research team or in a department-sponsored event are welcome to present at Showcase Day.
Work should be sufficiently developed to represent the culmination of an extended research project or creative effort. Every presenter’s work must be reviewed and approved by a faculty member to be included in Showcase Day.
If you are overseeing individual student work through independent studies, theses or class-based student research projects (undergraduate or graduate), you can involve students through your department’s planned Showcase Day activities.
An entire class may participate as presenters if you consider the work to be of sufficient rigor and academic quality (such as work from a capstone, honors course or similar class work involving extended faculty guidance and review).
Graduate students are encouraged to present their work on Showcase Day as a way to gain professional conference experience.
Faculty members who would like their students to participate in Showcase should check back for specific instructions in the coming weeks.
presentations
Plan Class Assignments
As you plan your courses for the Spring 2025 semester, please consider incorporating Showcase Day into your syllabi. Students will benefit by attending various sessions and interacting with their peers.
- If you teach on Wednesdays, instead of scheduling an in-class session on April 30, 2025, include an assignment that requires your students to attend Showcase. They can also present their own work in the form of poster, oral presentation or performance, or assess others’ presentations and posters that are related to the class.
- If you teach any other day, include an assignment that requires your students to attend Showcase Day and engage with student presenters in any form you think is the best.
Here are some ideas for class assignments:
assignments
Individual Assignment (100- and 200-level courses)
Identify which presentations and poster sessions are taking place during your normal class meeting time. Ask your students to determine which offerings contain concepts from your course and to select one to attend.
Then, assign one of these two assignments:
Option 1: Ask your students to prepare specific and open-ended questions for the presentation or poster session they have decided to attend.
Option 2: Ask your students to write a short report summarizing the presentation or poster session they decided to attend, identifying the following information:
- Title and brief summary of the project
- Indicate a concept, test or something else relevant to your class
- Discuss their thoughts on how the project relates to that concept
The Minerva Center for High Impact Learning offers guidance on reading a research poster and interacting with its author(s).
Individual Assignment (300- and 400-level courses)
If your course includes a semester-long project, ask your students to present at Showcase. The Minerva Center for High Impact Learning has online resources to help your students draft abstracts and create posters.
If your course does not include a semester-long project, ask your students to attend presentations and/or poster sessions relevant to your course content and provide them with reflection questions to answer.
Group Project (all course levels)
Ask your students to form groups (or place them in teams yourself) and create a poster presentation, panel discussion, lightning talks or other presentations relevant to a reoccurring theme or topic in your course.
Groups can collectively develop an individual project idea, or you can assign each group a specific theme or topic.
Ideally, these projects will translate into presentations and/or poster sessions during next year's Showcase Day. To that end, the Minerva Center for High Impact Learning has online resources to help your students draft abstracts and create posters.
Volunteering (all course levels)
In lieu of an assignment or project, ask your students to volunteer as support staff on Showcase Day.
They'll gain valuable experience managing logistics and help ensure a smooth day of events. You'll be able to track students' participation using Engage UAlbany.