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Submit a Proposal

The 6th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium (UGRS) returns as an exciting campus-wide, interdisciplinary event in Spring 2024! 

Invited student participants will:  

  • Deliver a 5-minute presentation based on their research using a maximum of 5 slides.

OR  

  • Submit a poster showcasing their research for presentation at the Symposium's poster session and digital publication in the UGRS Journal.  

The Symposium will also see presenters take part in a series of keynote and panel talks geared towards engaging them as emerging researchers and provoking dynamic and interdisciplinary discussion. 

 

Submit a proposaL

Submissions are now closed. Check back in 2025! 

Eligibility

Current undergraduate students from all academic disciplines are encouraged to submit proposals for the Symposium. To be eligible for participation, students should meet one or more of the following criteria: 

  • Be enrolled in an SFU Honours program; 
  • Have presented their work at SFU faculty or department-sponsored research symposia; 
  • Participate in supervised research at SFU.   

Interested undergraduate students should work closely with their supervisors on both the application and their presentations. Please contact us at ugrs@sfu.ca if you have any questions about eligibility.  

Proposal submission guidelines

Proposals from eligible students will be accepted via the UGRS Journal submissions page. Applications will be reviewed by a sub-committee and students may be asked to make revisions to their proposals to better fit the Symposium criteria.

Proposal decisions will be communicated via email in early March.

Please download the template and provide the following information:

  • Contact information for you and your supervisor
  • Title of your presentation or poster
  • Presentation or poster description
    • 50 words maximum
    • Presentation or poster description considerations: This should describe your presentation or poster in 2 sentences. The description should be engaging and accessible to an interdisciplinary audience who may not be familiar with your subject area. The text will be used as the description of your submission. Aim to get your audience excited to learn more about your work!

Abstract

  • 250 words maximum

  • Abstract considerations: Summarize your research project and presentation details. Use language that is accessible for an interdisciplinary audience; tell us about your research project and what, specifically, you will present about in your talk or poster; if you plan to take a unique approach in your presentation, tell us about that too.
  • Following the acceptance process, students will be invited to take part in workshops that will provide support for designing a research poster and creating a conference presentation.

Presentation format

Students have the option to give a live presentation at the Symposium or present a research poster in the Symposium's poster session.

Presentations – Students are invited to develop and deliver an engaging and accessible five-minute presentation of their research for an interdisciplinary audience using a maximum of 5 slides. Using a "5x5" model, the five-minute presentations will be grouped in sessions of five, followed by a 15-minute faculty-moderated conversation to explore common themes and encourage discourse across disciplines. 

Research Posters – Students are invited to produce a research poster that summarizes their research for presentation in the UGRS Poster Session. Use of a UGRS poster template is required. The 2024 UGRS posters will be also be exhibited in W.A.C. Bennett Library at SFU’s Burnaby Campus after the event and digitally published in the UGRS Journal. Students will be required to supply a print-ready file so the Planning Committee can have the posters professionally printed and installed. 

Project considerations

Featured research projects may be quantitative, qualitative, conceptual, theoretical, enacted, or practice-based. Here are some prompts to think about when preparing your UGRS proposal as well as your poster or presentation: 

  • A well-defined research question/hypothesis 

  • What are you curious about or wanting to find out or explore through your research?

  • A literature review 

  • What have you read and who are the other researchers who are working in this area?

  • A clearly stated methodology 

  • What have you done in your research and how have you approached that work?

  • Research findings, realized or anticipated 

  • What have you found out or what do you expect to find out through your research?

Review and selection criteria

  • Clarity, coherence, and appropriate scope

  • Relevance and appropriateness to the Symposium’s goals 

  • Accessible language and a clear proposed means of engaging a university-wide audience from across disciplines and subject areas

  • Contribution to academic research/disciplinary knowledge (potential or actual) 

QUESTIONS?

If you have questions about the submission or review process, please contact the Planning Committee at ugrs@sfu.ca.

Additional opportunities for showcasing your research

Many departments and faculties also host undergraduate research events so be sure to also explore what's happening locally in your subject area!