Research and Scholarship Events

The purpose of this annual event, at its core, is to bring us together as a community to recognize and support the superb public health research that takes place in the school - across all levels. The week's activities include a Student Poster Competition (powered by Fourwaves) and Student Lightning Talks.

2024 Poster Showcase

2024 Lightning Talks Recording

SPH Research and Scholarship Events Heading link

Poster Competition

Learn how to to participate in our longest running competition. Information for students and judges.
Lightning Talks

View the recording of our third annual competition, and check out the winners of Outstanding Lightning Talk!
Awardees

View the most recent and past awardees of our Poster Competition and Lightning Talks.

Research and Scholarship Events Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Heading link

General

General

I am a current UIC SPH student conducting research at a different institution. Is Research and Scholarship Week only for research completed at UIC SPH? No, current SPH students may present research projects completed at different institutions for the Poster Competition or the Lightning Talks.
Will there be a virtual event presenting awards to students? ORS will announce winners via email and the Research and Scholarship Week website. We do not plan to host a virtual ceremony for awards, however, special competitions are welcome to host their own event once we’ve provided the results.
Are research projects carried out as part of a single course requirement (rather than something like faculty research or a thesis) eligible for Research and Scholarship Week? Yes, research projects from courses are eligible for both the Poster Competition and Lightning Talks.
Are research or scholarly program ideas/proposals eligible for any of the Research and Scholarship Week competitions? Program ideas and proposals are NOT eligible for the Poster Competition as they will not satisfy the Results and Conclusions elements of the Core Evaluation Criteria. However, it should be eligible for the Lightning Talks.

Poster Competition

What are the eligibility requirements for participating in the SPH Poster Competition? Students are eligible to compete in the Master’s and Doctoral competitions if they meet either of the following requirements:
- Currently enrolled in an undergraduate degree program or minor within the School of Public Health; OR
- Currently enrolled as a degree-seeking student in the School of Public Health (Master’s or Doctoral); OR
- Currently enrolled as a UIC degree-seeking student (Undergraduate, Master’s, or Doctoral) AND conducted research or scholarship work in a SPH unit (e.g. IHRP, Collaboratory for Health Justice)
Is the SPH poster template a requirement for submission? The SPH poster template is not a required format. Students are encouraged to edit and optimize the provided template or use a different poster template that best fits the content they will be presenting. If students want to use the SPH poster template and have an extensive list of references to include, we recommend including a QR code or a link to a Google doc with the full list of references on the poster.
I received an honorable mention in last year’s Poster Competition. Can I participate this year? Yes, participating this year is permitted if it is with a research project distinct from the one previously presented.
Is it possible for a student to submit LOIs for the Poster Competition for more than one project? Yes, students may submit more than one LOI for the Poster Competition if they are different research projects and the projects have not been submitted to a previous SPH Poster Competition.
Can I revise my poster title after submitting the Letter of Intent? The title may be revised slightly for the poster, but the title on the LOI will be used for the PDF abstract book and for our judge sign-up sheet. It is recommended that the title be close to the LOI title so it can be matched by judges (they also receive a poster number for identification but may question a significantly changed title).
Can there be more than one main author or submitter per poster submission? Only one author can be listed as the main submitter/primary author, however, you may list all the co-authors in the project in the designated field in the LOI and they will be displayed where applicable.
How do you decide which Poster Competition track to choose (i.e. scholarly public health practice, research)? There is not always a clear distinction between scholarly public health practice and research. Both are scholarly and rigorous (for example, methods for collecting and analyzing data or other information are described in detail, conclusions are based on evidence and appropriately qualified, etc.). To reiterate, scholarly public health practice usually will involve a primary focus on addressing a specific public health problem or practical need that has been identified as important by a particular partner organization or group in the community, whereas research will tend to involve a focus on contributing to general knowledge about a public health issue (e.g., hypothesis testing).
If I submit a poster for the Poster Competition, can I judge other sections? Only Doctoral students are eligible to sign up to be judges in the competition. Doctoral student judges are eligible to judge Master’s or Undergraduate posters. Doctoral student judges may submit posters to Doctoral competitions as applicable.
My availability during Research and Scholarship Week is limited. What is the Poster Competition time commitment during the week? Do students have to do anything live? There is no live component to the poster competition. Once we’ve received poster and abstract submissions, a poster showcase will be shared via Fourwaves to participants and judges. Judges will have the opportunity to submit questions using the comment feature until their deadline (usually by mid-week). It will be up to students to monitor their posters and answer comments from judges during the allotted time frame (usually by the end of the week).
Is it a requirement for student participants to respond to judges’ comments on their posters? Students are highly encouraged but not required to respond to the comments made by judges, however, those who are planning to are expected to submit all their responses by the stated deadline. Judges may take responses into consideration when scoring.
My poster submission is a systematic literature review. It is not based on original research from primary data but rather on comparing peer-reviewed articles and drawing conclusions from the comparative analysis. Would this qualify for the competition? Yes, systematic literature reviews would be acceptable submissions.
Which competition should the LOI be submitted to if the project has multiple authors across degree levels? If there is substantial involvement (i.e., more than an advisory role) from team members with the more advanced degree, then the research project should qualify for the more advanced competitions.
Can students use posters they have presented at other conferences? Yes, students can submit posters to the Poster Competition that have already been presented at other conferences.
How do I sign up to be a judge without risking judging conflicts? Judges from the same division as the submitter are not in conflict unless a parameter below is applicable. Individuals may sign up as a judge for the posters interested in as long as none of the following parameters describe them:
- A collaborator/mentor for the work being presented
- An author on publications with the student(s) presenting
- A mentor, advisor, or dissertation committee member for the work’s author(s)

Lightning Talks

Is the SPH Lighting Talk template a requirement for submission? The SPH Lightning Talk template is not a required format. The template is in the required slide size and has the required UIC logo on the slides. Students are encouraged to edit and optimize the provided template.
If the project has multiple people working on it, can the co-authors also speak during the talk, or is it only the primary author who can speak?Group presentations are allowed with the same 5–7-minute time limit.
Is there a limit to the number of slides allowed to each PowerPoint presentation? There is no limit on the number of slides if presentations are within the 5–7-minute time frame.
What happens if the presentation goes over the 5–7-minute time limit? Presentations will be cut off at the 7-minute mark to ensure all presenters receive an equal opportunity.
I am unable to attend the Lightning Talks. Is it possible to watch a recording of the event? The Zoom recording will be available for public access on the website once the event has concluded.