FAQs

FAQs for Presenters

  1. How/When do I interact with the judges?

    By midnight EDT on Tuesday, May 3, judges will have posted their queries to your poster. Make sure you answer them by midnight on Wednesday, May 4th! Your answers will be considered in the scoring by the judges that will be completed on May 5th.

  2. Can everyone who visits my poster see the judges’ queries?

    No. Only you and the judges can see these queries. The rest of the IGERT community sees and can post to the general comment area.

  3. How can I interact with other presenters?

    Visit their posters and leave comments. Vote for the 4 posters (one can be your own) in the Community Choice competition. Remember, 4 of the 24 finalists will be chosen by the community. Chat with other presenters during the chat session from 1-4 PM EDT on Thursday, May 5th.

  4. How can I interact with other trainees, faculty members, alumni and program coordinators?

    All community members are urged to visit the posters and leave comments and queries. Please play an active role and reply to these posts. Participate in the chat session on Thursday, May 5th from 1:00-4:00 PM EDT.

  5. What will the public see?

    The public will see the posters and will be able to hear your audio narration. They will not see comments, judges’ queries, or the chat.

  6. How do I know which posters are in my judging group?

    Click on “Posters” from the Home page. This will bring you to a page where you can view all 135 posters. The left navigation will allow you to filter your results by your judging group.

  7. Who are the judges?

    IGERT faculty were invited to judge in this competition. Those faculty who volunteered were matched to judging groups based on common keywords and themes that were chosen by presenters. It is important to note however, that the IGERT projects encompass a wide array of fields and research themes and that careful consideration for conflicts of interest between judges and presenters also had to be accounted for. Hence there is not an exact match between judges’ fields of expertise and individual posters. Click on “Judges” in the top navigation and you will be able to see the judges that are assigned to your group.

  8. How is my poster presentation judged?

    Judges will score each poster based on this poster rubric . Judges will select 20 finalists (2 from each judging group).

    Four additional finalists will be selected by Community Choice votes. Each IGERT.org member is invited to select 4 posters that they most meritorious as their Community Choice votes. Judges will not participate in the Community Choice competition.

  9. Will I get to see the judges’ scores?

    No, judges' scores will not be shared with you. However we will send a compilation of their comments to you after the competition.

  10. Who can see the chat?

    Only members of IGERT.org who are logged in during the chat session Thursday, May 5th.

  11. Who can see and post comments?

    Only logged in IGERT.org members

  12. What will happen to my online poster after the competition?

    Your poster will be archived on the site. You still maintain all copyright to your work.

  13. When will I find out if my poster is a finalist?

    Friday, May 6th

  14. What happens if I am selected as a finalist?

    All finalists will attend a full day event from 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM at National Science Foundation in Washington DC on May 25th. Save the date!

    At this event, finalists will present their posters in person. You will be expected to bring your poster to mount on a poster board. There will be a second round of judging at this time. The presenters of the top 10 posters will be awarded a $3,000 travel award and the other 14 finalists will be awarded a $1,000 travel award. During the day, finalists will participate with alumni and NSF staff panelists.

  15. If I am selected as a finalist, can I edit, update, or improve my poster before going to the meeting on the 25th?

    Yes, we assume that many finalists will edit their posters as they consider the questions left by judges and the comments posted by the community. Physical posters should be no larger than 42" (3.5' square). (Posters may be smaller and do not have to be square.)

  16. Is it mandatory to attend the May 25th meeting in DC to receive a travel award?

    Yes.

  17. Now that I have uploaded my poster and my audio, what should I do during the competition?
    • Invite members of your IGERT (other trainees, faculty, program coordinators, alumni and partners) to log in and visit your poster and those of the other presenters.
    • Check online frequently on each day of the competition. Be sure to visit other posters and leave comments and vote for 4 posters that you find most meritorious as your Community Choice.
    • During the first day of the competition, judges will be leaving you queries. Make sure you answer them by the end of the day on May 4th! The judges will consider your answers in their scores.
    • Monitor you poster for comments from the community. You may provide replies to queries and comments.
    • Schedule time to be online for the community chat session from 1:00-4:00 EDT on Thursday, May 5th.

FAQs for Judges

  1. What do I have to do each day?

    The schedule is as follows:

    Tuesday, May 3: Judges log-in to IGERT.org and visit each of their assigned posters to view and listen to the audio presentations. By midnight, each judge must post a query to each presenter.

    Wednesday, May 4: Judges visit posters to see the replies to their queries that have been posted by presenters.

    Thursday, May 5: Judges must score each poster within their group by 10 PM EDT . Judges must score every poster within their judging group for their scores to count.

    Friday, May 6: Finalists will be announced.

  2. How do I know which posters are in my group?

    At the top of your screen in the black bar, you will see a shortcut to “My Posters.” This link is present at the top of every page on the site when you are logged in.

  3. How do I judge a poster?
    • When you view any poster within your judging group, you will see a button “Score Poster.” This will bring you to a scoring rubric. (If you do not see this, be sure to log-in.)
    • The scoring rubric has 10 items and you must score each of them on a scale of 1-5. One of these items asks you to rate the presenters’ replies to judges' queries. You will not be able to judge this until May 5th, since presenters will be answering queries on May 4th. You will be able to save partially completed rubrics and return to complete them at a later time.
    • Once you have completed all items for an individual poster, you will be able to view other judges’ scores relevant to that poster (by going to the Control Panel which is located in the very top black bar of every page on the site). You may contact other judges by emailing them individually or as a group (links to email are provided in the Control Panel). You can also arrange for a conference call (free conference line provided in the Control Panel).
    • You will be able to edit your scores until you click “Submit.” Once you have clicked “Submit,” your scores are final and cannot be changed.
  4. When should I score posters?

    You can start on May 3rd, but you will need to return to each poster on May 5th to judge how well presenters have answered judges' queries. All scores must be submitted by 10 PM EDT on May 5th.

  5. How do I keep track of my scores and see the scores of other judges?

    At the very top of every page in the black bar, you will see a link to the “Control Panel.” The Control Panel provides a link to a summary of your scores so that you can keep track of the posters that you have partially or fully completed. You will also see a link in the Control Panel to other judges’ scores within your judging group.

  6. Will the presenters see my scores?

    At the bottom of each scoring rubric you are asked to offer a general comment about the poster. Only your comment and not your score will be shared with the presenter. Please make sure to be supportive by providing constructive critique.

  7. Can I partially judge a poster and save what I have done?

    Yes. You can save what you have done as you go through the rubric so that you can leave and return, as necessary. To return to scoring rubrics that you have started, click “My Scores” in the top bar of any page.

    Once you have completed judging a poster and have entered scores for each item on the scoring rubric, be sure to click “submit” so that they can be tallied with the others. You must score all posters within your group. If you only score some, none of your scores will be counted! This judging must be completed by 10 PM EDT on Thursday, May 5th .

  8. How do I make sure that I’ve completed all of the judging in my group?

    From the Home page, you can navigate to the My Scores summary page. Here you will see which posters you have completed and which you have yet to do. You must score all posters within your group . If you only score some, none of your scores will be counted ! The Home page will also help you to keep track of how many queries you have sent, as well as how many unread replies you have received from the presenters.

  9. Do I need to score all of the posters in my group, even if they are not in my field of expertise?

    Yes! In order to count your scores, you must submit scores for all of the posters in your judging group . If you skip any posters, none of your scores will be counted , as we need to maintain scoring consistency in the groups. The presenters are aware that the judges will have varied fields of expertise and their presentations should be made toward that of a general audience.

  10. What happens if there is a tie between posters in our judging group?

    If your group has a tie (e.g. three presenters who all have the same score), the appointed chair will be asked to break the tie. He/She might do so by reviewing comments of the judges on each of the posters, by emailing the judges in the group, or by arranging a conference call (free conference line provided in the Control Panel). The emails of the judges in your group are available in your Control Panel and you should feel free to email each other as needed. You can also email the entire group by clicking “Email Group.”

  11. Can I communicate with the other judges?

    The emails of the judges in your group are available in your Control Panel and you should feel free to email each other as needed. You can also email the entire group by clicking “Email Group.”

  12. Can my judging group use a conference call to discuss the posters?

    We leave this up to the judges in each group. If you would like to arrange a conference call, you can email your group to find a time (free conference line provided in the Control Panel). This is not required.

  13. When must the judging be complete?

    The judging must be complete by 10 PM EDT on May 5th so that the scores can be collected and tallied to announce the finalists on May 6th.

  14. I missed the webinar for judges. Is there a way to watch the archive?

    To watch an archive of the webinar that was held for judges, click here .

  15. Who should I contact if I’m having technical trouble?

    Please contact us and send us a message.

FAQs for Guests

  1. How can I find posters that are interesting to me?

    Click on “Posters” (top right of the screen) to view all posters. Use keywords to filter posters and view those that are in your area of interest.

  2. What is the IGERT program?

    IGERT is the National Science Foundation’s flagship interdisciplinary training program, educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers by building on the foundations of their disciplinary knowledge with interdisciplinary training. Please visit About the IGERT Program to learn more.

  3. Can I contact a presenter to get more information?

    On each poster page, there is a link to the presenter’s IGERT.org Profile page where you can find more information. Presenters post contact information on their Profile page.

  4. Can I vote in the Community Choice competition?

    No. Only IGERT members who have logged in to the site will have access to voting in this competition. If you are the member of an IGERT program but have not yet registered on site, please apply to join asap. Once you are registered, you will be able to log-in to vote.

  5. What browser should I use during the Poster Competition?

    We advise you to use up-to-date versions of Safari (5 or higher), Firefox (3 or higher), Chrome (10 or higher) or IE (7 or higher).

  6. How do I view a full screen view of a poster?

    Click the "Fullscreen" icon in the toolbar that displays across the top of each poster. This "screen" icon is next to the % Scale bar. You can click it again to escape back to the page size view. We encourage you to use fullscreen for the best view of a poster. To see a picture of this icon, click here .

  7. What is the best way to print a poster?

    Click "Download Poster" underneath the poster (bottom right-hand corner). You can then print this PDF as you would print other files from your computer.

  8. How can I participate in the Poster Competition?

    Guests, future employers, and interested members of the public are invited to browse the posters and listen to the audio narration provided by each presenter. If you are interested in contacting the presenter you can click on their name to see their bio.

FAQs for IGERT Members

  1. Who do I contact if I have trouble logging in or other technical difficulties?

    Please contact us and send us a message.

  2. How can I find posters that are most interesting to me?

    Click on “Posters” (top right of the screen) to view all posters. Use keywords to filter posters and view those that are in your area of interest.

  3. How do I vote in the Community Choice competition?

    You can vote for the 4 posters that you find to be the most meritorious by clicking the “Vote for Poster” button that you will see on each poster page. You can view your Community Choice votes by clicking “My Activity” in the top black bar on each page of the site.

  4. Can I change my Community Choice votes?

    Yes. You can select and deselect up to 4 votes at any time. However voting closes and is finalized at 10 PM EDT on Thursday May 5th .

  5. Who can vote in the Community Choice competition?

    With the exception of the 50 designated competition judges, any logged in IGERT member (program coordinators, trainees, faculty, alumni, and partners) can vote for their top 4 favorite posters in the competition. Members of the public, who are not members of IGERT.org cannot vote for Community Choice. All votes must be in by 10 PM EDT on May 5th.

  6. Colleagues in my IGERT are not yet members of IGERT.org. Can they still join so that they can participate in the competition?

    Any member of an IGERT program (trainees, faculty, program coordinators, alumni, and partners) can become members of IGERT.org by being invited by a member of their own program or by applying to join. Once they have received an invitation or an approved application, they can complete their registration as a member of the site. If you have any questions or need help with getting your colleagues to join IGERT.org, please contact us .

  7. Can I post questions or feedback to the poster presenters?

    Yes! You can post questions and feedback to presenters by posting a comment on their poster page. Presenters will be monitoring this area too so be sure to check back to see replies that are posted to your questions.

  8. Who can see the questions that are posted to the presenters?

    Only logged in IGERT.org members will see comments posted to presenters. If you are a member of an IGERT, be sure to log-in to see and post these comments.

  9. Do I need to log-in to participate?

    Yes. Use the same log-in as you do for IGERT.org. If you are logged in to IGERT.org already you will not need to log-in again. Once you log in you will be able to comment, vote, and chat. None of these functionalities will be available if you don’t log-in.