Thinking Matters will be hosted in-person on the USM Portland Campus at the Abromson Center.

The Agenda and Schedule page will have your time slot for the in-person event.

  • Your Project Mentor will review your poster presentation and provide their feedback and approval.
  • We recommend posters be created in PowerPoint or Google Slides and saved as a PDF.  Using the templates provided will ensure an accurate size for printing. Apply and Prepare
  • Poster PDFs will be due two weeks before the in-person event to provide time for printing.
  • You have the option of using another printer at your own expense. See printing specifications below:
    • 48 inches x 36 inches
    • Landscape orientation
    • Heavyweight, coated paper
  • Posters will be available for pickup on campus at the ORIO office, 126 Bedford Street, Portland, prior to the event.
  • If you do not pick them up before the event, posters will be taken to the Abromson Center the morning of the event.
  • Display boards will be available at the in-person event. You may want to prepare a short description of your work to answer attendee questions.
  • Poster display time slots are about 1 hour long. Both morning and afternoon sessions are available.
  • Abstract and poster PDF file can be uploaded to Digital Commons.
  • Your Project Mentor will review your oral presentation and provide their feedback and approval. 
  • Oral presentations should be about 15-20 minutes, which will include time for questions.  Small groups will be assigned a time and room where they will take turns presenting.
  • Arrive a few minutes early to set up any AV with ITMS.
  • A moderator will be in the room to keep time.
  • A PowerPoint or Google Slide deck is recommended to accompany your oral presentation.

Thank you for your support of Thinking Matters!

  • Abstracts must be submitted via Google forms, which will create a Google Doc. Reviewers will be assigned to abstracts by general areas of expertise and will be given access to individual abstracts for their review. When the review is complete, the reviewer’s comments will be assigned to the Google Doc. The student and faculty advisor will see the comments and can make any suggested changes. 
  • The reviewer is expected to read the abstract, lightly edit (if necessary), and create a comment on each abstract assigned to them, using one of the following labels (explained in the following section): “Accepted,” “Accepted; slight revisions made,” “Reject and Revise,” or “Not accepted.”
  • Thinking Matters staff will send links to the students to their individual abstracts in Google Docs; students will be able to see the reviewer’s comments. If you wish to remain anonymous, please request an alternative method of reviewing.

Things to Keep in Mind when Editing: 

  • The Google doc should be in “Suggesting Mode” (equivalent of MS Word’s Track Changes function).
  • Correct basic spelling and grammatical errors.
  • Keep in mind that these are undergraduate and graduate student works, and comment accordingly.
  • If you think an abstract needs substantial changes or should be rewritten (especially in terms of content), please use the comment “Reject and Revise,” and add a comment explaining your recommendation we can send to the student.
  • If you think an abstract is fine as written, please use the comment “Accepted.”
  • If you made any discretionary edits (spelling/grammar, etc.) but the abstract is otherwise fine, please use the comment “Accepted; slight revisions made.” 
  • If an abstract is not fully developed or is poorly written (below minimum standards), use the comment “Not Accepted,” and add a brief comment explaining why.
  • Once you have completed your reviews, please let Thinking Matters staff know you are finished reviewing.
  • Thank you for your time and attention. Please feel free to contact the Thinking Matters Committee with any questions about the review process or individual abstracts. Happy reading!

If you would like to extend your service by volunteering at the in-person event, please let us know.

Thank you for your support of Thinking Matters!

Your help will ensure that:

  • The oral sessions run smoothly
  • Each student has at least 15-20 minutes to present their work
  • The audience has time to ask questions at the end of the oral presentation.

Below is a brief list of instructions:

  1. Before the session starts, ask students to confirm the pronunciation of their names and the title of their oral presentation.
  2. Begin the session with a brief welcome. Explain to the audience that each student will give their oral presentation with a question/answer period at the end of the session. The audience should be asked to hold their questions until all students have given their oral presentations to ensure that all students have a chance to present their work.
  3. Time each student’s presentation. Each student should present for no more than 15-20 minutes to allow time for questions and discussion. When the student has completed their presentation, allow for short applause, then introduce the next student. Repeat until all students have given their presentation.
  4. When all students have given their presentation, invite the audience to ask questions.
  5. Moderate the discussion; try to ensure broad audience participation. You may interject as needed to keep the Q&A moving along.
  6. If there are no questions, ask an open-ended question of the whole panel (e.g. “What was the most difficult thing you encountered during your research?” or “What do you plan to do with this research now that the project has concluded?” etc.). The point is to spark discussion and ease the nerves of students who are presenting their work in a public forum for the first time.

All students are encouraged to submit their work to Digital Commons.

What is Digital Commons?

Get the most out of your research with Digital Commons—a web-based, open-access institutional repository that is managed by USM Libraries. Content within Digital Commons is highly searchable in web browsers and is fully indexed with Google and Google Scholar, which gives your work the potential to reach a global audience.  Student research is the most popular material on USM Digital Commons.

By adding your research to Digital Commons, your work has a visible and lasting home where your accomplishments can be shared with potential employers, graduate schools, added to your resume or e-portfolio, or shared with whoever you want to know about your great Thinking Matters work.

What are the benefits?

  • Published presentations provide our students with a permanent URL that can be used in their professional resumes or CVs.
  • Students benefit from greater public exposure to the range of research that is being done at our university.
  • The work is digitally archived.
  • Presentations are available as examples for future students.

How do I use Digital Commons?