Most researchers aim to present their work at conferences, often considering an oral presentation as the ideal outcome. Conversely, being assigned to present a poster can sometimes be seen as a second choice. However, I believe this perception overlooks the unique opportunities posters provide. Interacting with attendees at a poster session often leads to more in-depth conversations than those following an oral presentation.
Recognizing this potential, some conferences, such as the European Geosciences Union (EGU), have innovated with new formats like the PICO (Presenting Interactive COntent) sessions. These sessions enhance the traditional poster experience by allowing researchers to present their work on touch screens, making the interaction more dynamic and engaging than paper posters. This approach has gained popularity and expanded over time.
Unfortunately, smaller conferences may not have the resources to provide touch screens for such interactive experiences. As an alternative, I've experimented with a method that partially recreates the PICO experience. The idea is to make the poster more visual and less text-heavy while incorporating QR codes that link to short videos explaining different parts of the poster. These videos can cover the abstract, references, and explanations of figures.
Implementing this iPoster strategy involves some technical steps: recording the videos, uploading supplemental material for immediate access, and creating QR codes. Recording videos is now straightforward; you can use a virtual meeting platform to record yourself presenting the poster. For hosting the videos and additional materials, I prefer using the Open Science Framework (OSF), which allows for the visualization of PDFs, videos, and Jupyter notebooks without needing to download them first. Videos can also be uploaded to platforms like YouTube or Vimeo.
Once you have your materials uploaded, you can generate QR codes using one of the many available online tools. Embed these QR codes into your poster at relevant points. This way, visitors can access the supplementary material directly from their mobile devices while viewing your poster, even if you are not present.
This approach enhances the traditional poster session, making it more interactive and informative. While there is always room for improvement, this method can significantly enrich the experience for both presenters and attendees.
Clicking on the Figure above you can see and download the iPoster Example. This was actually derived from this poster. For a more generic/general post on how to do poster, please give a look to this blog post.
Everything is improvable !
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