Health Sciences Education Symposium

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2026 VCU HSES Presentation Guidelines

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The purpose of this document is to provide you with information to aid the preparation of your presentation for the 2026 VCU Health Sciences Education Symposium.  Please email Stacey Wahl, Ph.D. at stacey.wahl@vcuhealth.org with any questions.

Presentation Types

  1.  Oral Presentation
  2. Spark Session
  3. Poster Presentation

Oral Presentation

General Guidelines

Each oral presenter will be introduced and the title of your talk will be read by the moderator for your session. Our symposium limits each presentation to 20 minutes in length with 10 minutes for questions. Your moderator will signal you at 3 minutes before your talk should end.

Be prepared: bring your digital materials on a flash drive and email them to yourself (or Stacey Wahl) so you can access them online if your drive fails.

Be early: arrive 10 minutes before the start of your session to prepare your presentation.

If you have handouts, please bring copies in advance so they can be placed on the attendees' tables.

Presentation Organization

Design: Presenters have complete autonomy on the aesthetic design of their presentations.  However, presenters are strongly encouraged to use the PowerPoint templates that are sized appropriately and have high-quality VCU logos: https://brand.vcuhealth.org

Note: All VCU logos and graphic elements should align to the VCU brand standards described here: https://www.identity.vcu.edu.

Presenters are encouraged to consider the following slide design recommendations:

  • All authors’ names, degrees, and schools/departments should be visible.
  • Text should NOT be smaller than 22pt.
  • Avoid dark or textured backgrounds.
  • Avoid distracting color combinations (i.e., red/green, blue/purple/yellow).
  • Use high-resolution images (300 dpi).

Acknowledgments: Be sure to thank any individuals who helped you with your research or who provided you with materials or information. 

Literature Cited/Bibliography: Please include a summary of your bibliography or literature cited on the last slide.

Judging

Each presentation should address the following criteria:

  • Clear Goals/Objectives
  • Background information necessary to understand the project
  • Appropriate methods
  • Results
  • Effective presentation
  • Reflective critique

More information about each criteria can be found here: Glassick’s criteria

View sample Judges Evaluation Form

Spark Session

General Guidelines

Each spark presenter will be introduced and the title of your talk will be read by the moderator for your session. Our symposium limits each presentation to 10 minutes in length with 5 minutes for questions. Your moderator will signal you at 3 minutes before your talk should end.

Be prepared: Slides are not required for Spark Sessions. If you choose to use slides to aide your presentation, please refer to the design recommendations below, bring a copy of your presentation on a flash drive, and email a copy of your presentation to yourself so that you can access it in the session if necessary.

Be early: arrive 10 minutes before the start of your session to prepare your presentation.

If you have handouts, please bring copies in advance so they can be placed on the attendees' tables.

Presentation Organization

Design: Presenters have complete autonomy on the aesthetic design of their presentations.  However, presenters are strongly encouraged to use the PowerPoint templates that are sized appropriately and have high-quality VCU logos: https://brand.vcuhealth.org

Note: All VCU logos and graphic elements should align to the VCU brand standards described here: https://www.identity.vcu.edu.

Presenters are encouraged to consider the following slide design recommendations:

  • All authors’ names, degrees, and schools/departments should be visible.
  • Text should NOT be smaller than 22pt.
  • Avoid dark or textured backgrounds.
  • Avoid distracting color combinations (ie. red/green, blue/purple/yellow).
  • Use high-resolution images (300 dpi).

Acknowledgments: Be sure to thank any individuals who helped you with your research or who provided you with materials or information. 

Judging

Each presentation should address the following criteria:

  • Clear Goals
  • Compelling description of the problem or issue
  • Impact to health science learners and/or educators
  • Implications for future research, lessons learned, or next steps
  • Effective Presentation

View sample Judges Evaluation Form

Poster Presentation

The poster session will take place on Thursday, March 26, 2026, from 3:30-5:00 pm. Presenters are required to be present with their posters during the session. Please arrive no later than 3:20 pm.

 Specifications

The dimensions of printed posters should be 36”x 48” (tall x wide)- please ensure these dimensions are set before printing. Printed posters will be adhered via velcro to a soft, fabric surface that is 48”x 72”. Velcro tabs will be provided and posters will be hung by the Faculty Development Office. There will be no AV, computer equipment, or electrical outlets available during the poster session.  

Poster Printing Submission Deadline: Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 5:00 pm

Poster Format: Posters must be emailed to stacey.wahl@vcuhealth.org as a PowerPoint file pdf document. Please ensure that the sizing is correct (36” x 48”) before submitting

 Design

Presenters have complete autonomy on the aesthetic design of their posters.  However, presenters are strongly encouraged to use the PowerPoint templates that are sized appropriately and have high-quality VCU logos: https://brand.vcuhealth.org

 Presenters are encouraged to consider the following poster design recommendations:

  • Posters are driven by discussion. Seek visual brevity. 800 total words are adequate.
  • Summarize findings in charts when possible.
  • All authors’ names, degrees, and schools/departments should be visible.
  • Format the poster title in Sentence case, NOT ALL CAPS.
  • Use sans-serif font (Arial, Helvetica) for title and headings with a minimum size of 60 pt.
  • Use serif-font (Times New Roman, Palatino) for body text with a minimum size of 30 pt.
  • Text should not be smaller than 22 pt.
  • Avoid dark or textured backgrounds.
  • Avoid distracting color combinations (i.e., red/green, blue/purple/yellow).
  • Use high-resolution images (1500x1500 minimum pixels for a 10-inch square image).
  • Ensure all charts, graphs, and photos can be seen from three feet away.
  • Consider including an online link or QR code to your poster or  a handout that contains more content.

 Additional tips on academic poster design are available here: http://colinpurrington.com/tips/poster-design

Judging 

Each presentation should address the following criteria:

  • Clear Goals/Objectives
  • Background information necessary to understand the project
  • Appropriate methods
  • Results
  • Effective presentation
  • Reflective critique

 More information about each criteria can be found here: Glassick’s criteria

 View sample Judges Evaluation Form

Printing

Once designed, submit your poster to the School of Medicine Office of Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development (OFAFD) who will coordinate printing all posters accepted to the 2026 VCU SOM Health Sciences Education Symposium under the following conditions:

  • Poster must adhere to the dimensions of 36”x48”.
  • Poster design files (PowerPoint or PDF) must be submitted by March 19, 2026. 

 Note: These posters will be printed by VCU Libraries at no charge to the presenters and attached to poster surface for the session if the aforementioned conditions are met.  All poster design files will also be submitted to VCU Libraries Scholar’s Compass.

If presenters are unable to meet the aforementioned conditions (due to schedule, file type, or other issues), posters can be printed at local printers such as Uptown Color or FedEx Kinkos, and the presenter will be responsible for these costs.

Templates

Presenters can use either of these templates that they feel are most appropriate for their poster content.  Each template has VCU branding that aligns to VCU brand standards.

Download VCUHealth Template (Powerpoint file)

Download VCU Template (Powerpoint file)

Setup and Removal

Posters submitted to OFAFD by March 19, 2026 for printing will be installed by OFAFD before the poster session.  Posters that are not submitted to OFAFD must be installed by the presenters by 3:00 pm on March 26, 2026.  Presenters must remove their printed posters by 5:00 pm after the conclusion of the poster session. The symposium committee is not responsible for posters left on boards after this time.

Summary

  • All posters must be 36”x48”
  • Keep it simple.
  • Utilize VCU/VCU Health PowerPoint templates to design your poster
  • Refer to poster design recommendations.
  • Submit poster design file to Stacey Wahl at stacey.wahl@vcuhealth.org for printing by March 19, 2026.
  • Prepare for an exciting, innovative, and scholarly symposium!