Guidelines for presenters

Presenter Registration

To help us plan, please submit abstracts only if you are committed to attending the conference if accepted. Please note that all presenters must purchase a ticket to attend VicBioCon 2027.  

Onsite registration and information desk 

On arrival at the conference, all oral and poster presenters should register at the Conference Registration and Information Desk in the WLT foyer at La Trobe University’s Bundoora campus.

Presentation Types

Full-length presentation (15 minutes, including a 10-minute talk and 5 minutes for questions and changeover). 

Full-length presentations are ideal for projects or research close to completion, with substantial data and emerging conclusions. This format allows presenters to place their work in a broader context and discuss their research or project goals, study design and outcomes.

Speed talk (5 minutes, including a 3-minute talk and 2 minutes for questions and changeover). 

This format allows you to showcase a project or research in a short, concise and engaging manner, an increasingly important communication skill for modern ecologists.

Poster presentation

Poster presentations allow you to showcase your work to a broader audience and provide a forum for informal discussion during the allocated poster session. Posters have traditionally provided a platform for presenting works in progress, preliminary results, monitoring programs, novel methods and techniques, or plans for future work. Your poster should be largely self-explanatory so you can focus on discussing the work and answering questions from attendees.

Required Formats and Conditions

Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners 

It is a requirement of the Victorian Biodiversity Conference 2027 that all presenters acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Country where their field research was undertaken, or where the relevant project, research or organisation/institution is located. Please include this information, including the name of the Traditional Owners/Country, on your presentation slides or poster. VicBioCon 2027 will be held at La Trobe University’s Bundoora campus on Wurundjeri Country.

Inclusion of Preferred Pronoun

You are welcome to include your preferred pronouns on your holding or introductory slide to assist fellow attendees during Q&A and discussion. 

PowerPoint Presentations

To help sessions run smoothly, we ask presenters to submit their PowerPoint presentations before the conference so we can pre-load and check them before each session. If you can't submit your presentation before the conference, please bring it to the Conference Registration and Information Desk in the WLT foyer as early as possible. 

Venue Screens

The screens in the session rooms use a 16:9 aspect ratio. Please set your slides before designing your presentation.

Presentation Upload 

You must upload presentations to Smash. 

Please submit presentations in PowerPoint (.ppt) format.

​To submit your PowerPoint presentation, go to THIS LINK and attach your presentation. Add your email and use a SessionName_FirstName_LastName format in the subject field.

If you have any trouble using the VicBioCon personalised link, you can head to https://fromsmash.com and list vicbiocon@gmail.com in the ‘your contacts’ email field.  You may need to create an account. Please email us if you continue to have trouble.

​​​​PowerPoint Submission Guidelines

Please use the following file name convention: SessionDay_FirstName_LastName_PresentationTitle

Poster Presentation Guidelines

Poster size: Posters must be A0 portrait size (1189 mm high × 841 mm wide).

Poster printing: Presenters must print their poster before arriving at the conference. Please check in at the Conference Registration and Information Desk when you arrive for instructions on where to display your poster.

Audio Visual Equipment

Standard audio-visual equipment will be available in each session room. If you have accessibility requirements, plan to use unusual presentation formats, need additional equipment, or have other AV requirements, please contact vicbiocon@gmail.com before the conference so we can determine what we can accommodate.

Student awards

Each year at VicBioCon, we award prizes for the Best Poster Presentation, Best Speed Talk (5 minutes),
and Best Full-Length Presentation (10 minutes) by a student. All currently enrolled or recently graduated students are eligible to win these awards.

Oral presentations are assessed based on four criteria:

• Overall quality of the slides,

• Speaking presence,

• Well-designed and executed project,

• Answers questions well.

Poster presentations are also assessed based on four criteria:

• Overall quality of the poster design,

• Clear graphics/data visualisation,

• Well-designed and executed project, and

• Answers questions well.

Don’t forget: all presenters must purchase a ticket to confirm their place on the program.