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Orchestrating a Highly Interactive Virtual Student Research Symposium
Cantor Colburn Patent Agent Dennis Jakiela, Ph.D., co-authored an article in the Journal of Chemical Education in 2020, "Orchestrating a Highly Interactive Virtual Student Research Symposium," with Jessica G. Freeze,* Jessica A. Martin, Patrick Fitzgerald, Clorice R. Reinhardt, and Ana S. Newton. Dennis is an active volunteer leader with the New Haven Local Section of the American Chemical Society. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the chapter held a virtual version of its annual Student Research Symposium prompted. A combination of YouTube, Google Drive, Open Broadcaster Software, and Zoom was utilized to hold the symposium which included juried oral and poster presentations. While the aim was to preserve as much of the in-person experience as possible despite the crisis, the team found some very encouraging advantages to the virtual format. These included reduced presenter fatigue, more substantive one-on-one interactions between student and senior researchers, expanded accessibility for students, faculty, and the general public, and the virtual symposium being a fraction of the cost of an in-person symposium. The details of this experience and advice for its application in the wider educational community are reported.
