IoE Postgraduate Research Conference

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2021 IoE PGR Virtual Conference

Date: Wednesday 30^th June 2021 (09:00-15:00)

Conference Theme: Educational research and resilience in the face of adversity

Welcome message from the IoE PGR Conference Committee
We are looking forward to welcoming you to the Institute of Education’s annual PGR conference, held online this year via Microsoft Teams. (The URL link to this virtual conference will be made available nearer the time.)

We hope to present a wide range of research from staff and PhD/EdD students alike, many of which were partly undertaken in the midst of the pandemic last year. We will soon be requesting submissions for both ‘live’ and recorded presentations – please watch this space for further announcements!

Keynote speaker
We are delighted to announce our keynote speaker for this year’s conference is Prof. Alan Floyd (University of Reading’s Education, Language and Learning Research Division Lead). Prof. Floyd’s keynote talk will be on the conference theme.

Presentation format options

1. The ‘Live’ presentation option

The conference will take place on Microsoft Teams where presenters are asked to present their research ‘live’ for a maximum of 10 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of Q&A. (Typically, your presentation would have no more than ten slides.) This option is ideal for doctoral students and research staff who either are in the middle of data collection or have already done their data collection and have some interesting (preliminary) findings to share.

As a ‘live’ presenter, you will need access to reliable Internet connection, a microphone and a web camera.

2. The pre-recorded presentation option (also part of the IoE’s 3-minute Thesis Competition)

This year, we are pleased to introduce our new IoE’s 3-minute Thesis Competition. These pre-recorded presentations must be no longer than 3 minutes, and will be following guidelines similar to the University’s 3-Minute Thesis competition.

Our IoE competition will be ideal for doctoral students across all stages of their doctoral journey, including first-year students who have not started their data collection yet. This pre-recorded version will also be ideal for any presenters who are unable to present ‘live’ at the virtual conference (e.g.. students who currently live in a different time zone). Please note that with this presentation format, there won’t be a live Q&A element after your presentation.

The 3-minute presentations can be pre-recorded using one of the following free tools: Screencastify and Loom. Both tools allow the presenter’s face and screen to be recorded at the same time.

Guidelines for the 3-minute thesis competition presentations:

Pre-recorded presentations are to be no longer than 3 minutes.
A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted (no slide transitions, animations or ‘movement’ of any description are permitted).
No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted.
No additional props (e.g. costumes, instruments (musical, laboratory etc.)) are permitted.

Judging criteria for the 3-minute thesis competition presentations:

The Conference committee will judge the pre-recorded presentations based on communication style, comprehension and engagement. We hope to announce winners at the end of the conference.

Communication style	Comprehension	Engagement
Is the thesis topic and its significance communicated in language appropriate to a non-specialist academic audience?	Does the presentation help the audience understand the research?	Does the presentation make the audience want to know more?
Does the presenter explain terminology/acronyms and avoid jargon?	Does the presentation follow a clear and logical sequence?	Is the accompanying PowerPoint slide clearly designed and visually engaging?
Does the accompanying PowerPoint slide enhance the presenter’s communication – was it clear, legible and concise?	Does the presenter spend adequate time on each element of their presentations? (or do they elaborate/rush?)	Does the presenter maintain eye contact, show enthusiasm, capture audience attention, have good vocal range and present at a steady pace?

Abstract submission for both live and pre-recorded presentations

Regardless of your chosen presentation format, please submit your abstract using this form by Friday 21^st May 2021 (17:00). The Organising Committee will review all submissions and will respond to presenters by Tuesday 1^st June 2021.

(If you choose the pre-recorded presentation option, the video of your pre-recorded presentation should be uploaded by you to your Microsoft OneDrive, and the link to your video must be sent to us by Wednesday 16^th June 2021 (17:00). Please ensure that you have changed the setting so that anyone with that link can access your presentation video.)

If you would like more details about the presentation formats, please get in touch with Aniqa Leena (a.t.leena@pgr.reading.ac.uk) for further information.

PGR Achievements

We would also like to celebrate all the achievements of our doctoral students in the current academic year. Please could you send in details of your research publications or conference presentations or anything else that is, in your view, worth a mention. These will be put together into a PowerPoint to be shown and celebrated during the virtual conference. Please send your achievement details to Ugochi Uzo u.c.uzo@pgr.reading.ac.uk by Wednesday 16^th June 2021 (17:00).

Key dates

First Announcement e-mail being sent out – 20^th April 2021
Second Announcement e-mail being sent out – 14^th May 2021
Abstract submission deadline – 21^st May 2021 (17:00)
Pre-recorded presentation submission deadline and PGR Achievements submission deadline – 16^th June 2021 (17:00)
The conference’s full programme being made available – TBA

Contact us

If you have any questions about our 2021 IoE PGR Conference, please contact both Aniqa Leena (a.t.leena@pgr.reading.ac.uk) and Chengcheng Guo (chengcheng.guo@pgr.reading.ac.uk).

We look forward to seeing as many of you at this year’s IoE PGR virtual conference!

2021 IoE PGR Conference Committee

(Aniqa Leena, Chengcheng Guo, Ugochi Uzo, Fei Lian, Tiantian Zhou and Haifa Alamri)