Student Research & Community Engagement Symposium

2021 Student Symposium

Thank you to the more than 150 students who participated in the 24th annual Student Research and Community Engagement Symposium! We commend all our students who presented their impressive research and scholarly work. Also, thank you to the judges, faculty advisors, industry partners, alumni, family and friends who helped make this another special event.

Find out the competition winners by viewing the Awards Ceremony webinar.

Also, you can still view all the Round 1 student video submissions on the Student Symposium YouTube channel.

We look forward to seeing everyone next year!

Special Thank You to our Judges and Supporters

Eleanor Abrams
Cheyenne Alexander
Dhimiter Bello
Derek Berger
Eliza Bobek
Dezanae Boston-Bernier
Nicole Champagne
Kavitha Chandra
Kwok-Fan Chow
Michael Ciuchta
Timothy Cook
Brita Dean
Joseph Donahue
Stephen Driscoll
Mary Duell
Suzanne Dulude-Potter
Adam Dunbar
Sarah Eisenklam
Karoline Evans
Vanessa Farzner

Rafael Feliz
Hernan Florez
Brennan Fournier
Reja Gamble
Jessica Garb
José-Mauricio Geleilate
Linda Gladu-Ennis
Joseph Gonzales
Teresa Gonzalez
Paula Haines
Karen Hamlin
Ying Huang
George Joseph
Yelena Kann
Subhan Khan
Sue Kim
Charlie Klassen
Sarah Kostanski
Ann Kronrod
Teresa Lee

Anne Maglia
Heather Makrez Allen
Kelsey Mangano
Morgan Marietta
Fred Martin
Joyce McLaughlin
Joey Mead
John Miller
Melissa Morabito
Carol Myers
Keith Neal
Matthew Nugent
Nicholas Papoulias
Arlene Parquette
Jennifer Percival
Bhooshan Popere
Leticia Porter
Michael Pueschel
Shaima Ragab

Sandra Richtermeyer
Lena Robinson
Shaina Roy
Richard Serna
Eric Si
Aaron Smith-Walter
Amber Squires
Sharon Subreenduth
Sunny Li Sun
Vaibhav Tale
Herpreet Thind
Johanna Tigert
Randy Tyndall
Michelle Wojcik
Yi-Ning (Winnie) Wu
Chi Zhang
Xiaoqi (Jackie) Zhang
Fang Zhang

Symposium Format

Round 1

April 13–20: Students entering the competition will submit a video of no more than 3 minutes describing their project. These videos will be shared on YouTube for a week of public viewing and voting as Round 1. A team designated by each college dean will select a certain number of finalists proportional to the number of submissions from their college to continue to the next round. Students may elect to participate only in Round 1; they will be considered for the Fan Favorite category.

Round 2

April 23, 1 - 4 p.m.: Finalists selected to proceed to Round 2 will participate in a virtual, real-time presentation and Q&A session with a panel of 3-5 judges. Finalists will start by providing a short presentation followed by a series of questions from the judges related to technical aspects, challenges, solutions, impact, etc. about their projects.

Awards Ceremony/Winners

April 27, Noon to 1 p.m.: The competition will culminate in an awards ceremony to be broadcast virtually for all friends, family and community to enjoy.

The number of Student Symposium winners from each college will be proportional to the number of submissions. Each college will award at least one undergraduate and one graduate student or team as winners. Individual submission winners will each receive $300. Team submission winners will each receive $600 to be split amongst the team.

In addition, each college will recognize at least one “Fan Favorite” winner based on the number of likes on YouTube and input from judges. Fan Favorite winners will receive $150 as both individuals and teams.

How to Participate

Three young women stand in front of poster

1. Submit Your Abstract

Students who wish to participate in the Student Symposium must submit an abstract (up to 250 words) using the online submission portal by Monday, April 5 at 11:59 p.m. Abstracts must be approved by project advisors. The sooner you submit your abstract, the more time you will have to create your video.

Young black man stands in front of research poster

2. Submit Your Video

Videos may not exceed 3 minutes. We encourage students to be creative with their videos (i.e. using different formats such as multiple slides, demos, interviews, animations, etc.) as long as they demonstrate their projects effectively. Once your abstract is approved, you will receive the link to submit your video.

Young woman listen intently to person in foreground

3. Prepare for Your Presentation and Q&A

Finalists selected to proceed to Round 2 will be asked to participate in a real-time presentation and Question and Answer (Q&A) session with a panel of judges. Be sure to review your work and come prepared to explain your project and answer clarifying questions.