Presenting at a BOU conference
Give a talk at a BOU annual spring conference
We usually hold open slots for students to present their work. These are often indicated on the provisional programme for each conference to allow you to see which of the themed sessions we are looking for contributions for.
Open slots are usually 15 or 20 minutes in length and form part of the main conference session (no parallel sessions so you are guaranteed a full audience of up to 250 delegates [audience size is determined by conference theme which can be anywhere from 120-250 people]). You will be required to prepare an abstract and mini biography up to three months in advance of the conference and will also be expected to prepare an extended abstract for the online conference proceedings within six weeks of the conference being held.
The conference programme organisers decide who will be offered any slot. Because of the themed nature of our conferences open slots are rarely massively over-subscribed, so if you have something to say, then give it a try!
Look for calls for papers (via this website, via Twitter, etc), check individual conference programme when posted online or contact the BOU Office or conference organiser (if listed). The author of the best student talk also receives a £50 prize as part of the BOU’s ‘best student presentation’ awards – see below.
Present a poster at a BOU conference
We encourage students to present their work at our conferences. Student posters do not have to fit within the theme of the conference, but can be on any aspect of ornithology.
Space is limited however but we will do our best to accommodate student posters, but it is best to book your poster space as soon as possible. You will be required to prepare an abstract and mini biography up to three months in advance of the conference. The abstract will be included in the online conference proceedings. See our poster guidelines for further information and submission deadlines.
We also have two different poster formats to enable you to present your work.
Traditional Posters (annual spring conference and one-day conferences)
We do not usually hold dedicated poster sessions. Poster authors are asked to man their posters during coffee/tea breaks and around lunch and other free time as stipulated in the conference programme. We have found this works very well and allows us to maintain a full oral programme and ensures all delegates get to see posters within their own attendance (not all delegates attend all of the conference and may well miss a dedicated poster session).
We ask authors to put their posters up as early as possible and that posters remain in situ until the afternoon break on day 3. BOU will provide velcro for attaching your poster to our boards (no pins or staples!).
Talking Posters (annual spring conference only)
Talking Posters are short, automated, narrated and unmanned PowerPoint presentations that will run on a continuous loop during all breaks at the spring conference in a dedicated screening room.
See our Talking Poster guidelines and submission details.
The author of the best student poster or talking poster at the annual spring conference also receives a £50 prize as part of the BOU’s annual ‘best student presentation’ awards – see below.
Best student presentations at the BOU annual spring conference
The student or post-doc giving the best presentations (best student speaker and best student poster) at the BOU’s annual spring conference will be awarded the new annual award of ‘Best Student Presentation’ by the BOU. The recipients will be given a certificate and a prize of £50.
For more general conference information – see here.