UAlbany Showcase

We have all been impressed by students' hard work on papers, projects and presentations in Fall 2026. Their intellectual growth is a tangible result of your teaching and guidance.

Here are a few ways you can encourage students from your Fall 2026 courses to participate in Showcase 2027:

• If a student’s work during the Fall 2026 semester particularly stood out to you, encourage them to present it at Showcase 2027.
• Let students know you’re willing to serve as their Showcase Advisor, guiding them through the submission and presentation process in Spring 2027.
• Provide students with comments and other feedback to improve their papers, projects and presentations ahead of Showcase.

Note: Detailed presenter registration instructions will be released in 2027. 

Student presenters will benefit from the experience of presenting their research, adding to their resumes and demonstrating their achievements.

Graduate students in particular are encouraged to present their work on Showcase Day as a way to gain professional conference experience.

Presenters will be asked to provide a title and abstract that will be included in the Showcase Day program. They also will have the cost of printing their research poster covered by the event, if applicable.

Note: Detailed presenter registration instructions will be released in 2027.

Students working on projects as part of a class, lab group, research team or in a department-sponsored event are welcome to present at Showcase Day. Work should be sufficiently developed to represent the culmination of an extended research project or creative effort.  

To be included in Showcase Day, every presenter’s work — whether a poster, presentation or performance — must be reviewed and approved by the presenter’s “Showcase Advisor,” who is typically the faculty member who supervised the work being presented.

Showcase Advisors may be a graduate mentor or faculty member from an undergraduate capstone, honors course, independent study, or other extended research project or creative effort. For example:

• A chemistry student who has been working on a project under the supervision of a faculty member would ask that faculty member to serve as their Showcase Advisor.
• A history student who wants to present a capstone research paper would ask the faculty member who taught (or is teaching) that capstone class to serve as their Showcase Advisor.
• A master's or doctoral student in atmospheric sciences who wants to present research conducted under the guidance of a faculty member would ask that faculty member to serve as their Showcase Advisor.

All Showcase Advisors are responsible for ensuring student presentations, performances and posters are well-prepared before students submit their work. Showcase Advisors' names will be included on all student work.  

Note: Detailed presenter registration instructions will be released in 2027. 

Identify which presentations are taking place during your normal class meeting time, and ask your students to determine which offerings contain concepts from your course and to select one to attend.

Note: A detailed event schedule will be released as the event approaches.

Then, consider using one (or a variation) of the assignments below:

• Asking Questions: Prepare specific and open-ended questions for the presentation or poster session you have decided to attend.
• Report: Write a short report summarizing a presentation or poster session you attended, identifying the following information:
  • Title and brief summary of the project
  • Indicate a concept, test or something else relevant to class
  • Discuss their thoughts on how the project relates to that concept
• Looking for a Major or Minor: View a poster or presentation and take note of the academic discipline in which it was produced. Write down the name of the student's Showcase Advisor and then read the Showcase Advisor's biography on the UAlbany website. Write 250 words on why you think the subject they teach could be a good major or minor for you.  
• Connections to the Classroom: Write a 250-word reflection that connects a poster session or presentation you attended to one of the texts you’ve read in class.  
• Selfie: Take a selfie in front of a poster, post it to your course’s Brightspace discussion board and explain why you found that poster interesting.
• Scavenger Hunt: Find a poster related to the topic of your class. Take a picture of it and in a brief reflection explain how it connects to a topic discussed in class. Post this to your course’s Brightspace discussion board.
• Oral Presentation Evaluation: Attend any type of oral presentation and evaluate the speaker. Consider these questions: What did the speaker do right? What did the speaker do wrong? Was the argument clear? Was there evidence? And did the presenter interpret the evidence in ways that supported the project’s central claims?
• Poster Presentation Evaluation: Attend a poster presentation and evaluate the poster’s design as well as the author’s presentation of it. Ask the author, “Can you tell me about your research?” and compare the response to how it was presented on the poster. Consider these questions: What was the poster’s central research question or hypothesis? How was the research conducted? What were the results and were they clearly conveyed?  
• Performance or Art Installation Evaluation: Attend an art installation or performance and evaluate the work. Consider these questions: Can you connect the work to themes and/or concepts discussed in class? Did the work evoke any feelings or emotions? What message did the work send?   

If your course includes a semester-long project, ask your students to present at Showcase.

If your course does not include a semester-long project, ask your students to attend presentations and/or poster sessions relevant to your course content and provide them with reflection questions to answer.  

Alternatively, identify which presentations and poster sessions are taking place during your normal class meeting time. Ask your students to determine which offerings contain concepts from your course and to select one to attend.

Note: A detailed event schedule will be released as the event approaches.

Then, consider using one (or a variation) of the assignments below:

• Quotation-Comment-Question (QCQ): Select a quotation from a poster. Interpret and/or comment on that quotation in light of the poster’s subject. And then ask a new question that could form the basis of future research in that subject.
• Future Research: After attending Showcase, describe a research project that you would like to conduct and present at next year’s event.
• Interdisciplinary Thinking: Visit the posters and/or presentations of an academic discipline different from yours and make connections between that subject and your own. Reflect on how you might tackle a similar problem in your major.

Ask your students to form groups (or place them in teams yourself) and create a poster presentation, panel discussion, lightning talks or other presentations relevant to a reoccurring theme or topic in your course.  

Groups can collectively develop an individual project idea, or you can assign each group a specific theme or topic.  

Ideally, these projects will translate into presentations for next year's Showcase Day. The Minerva Center for High-Impact Practices has online resources to help your students draft abstracts and create posters.  

Note: Detailed presenter registration instructions will be released in 2027.

In lieu of an assignment or project, ask your students to volunteer as support staff on Showcase Day. They'll gain valuable experience managing logistics and help ensure a smooth day of events.

We need volunteers for a variety of tasks — from pre-event setup and post-event cleanup to visitor wayfinding and presenter registration.  

Note: Volunteer sign-ups will open online as the event approaches, and instructions for how to track your students’ volunteering will also be provided.

Even if your students are not presenting, attending Showcase Day is a great way to explore new ideas, support their peers and earn extra credit. Here are some ideas for extra credit assignments:

• Building Bingo: Attend presentations in at least three different campus buildings or locations. Proof of attendance may include a photo of a poster or room sign, the presenter’s name and title, or a brief written description of where you went and what you saw.
• Peer Feedback: Attend three presentations and write short, thoughtful feedback for each presenter. Feedback should include something you learned, something you found interesting and a question or constructive comment.
• Cross-disciplinary Exploration: Attend presentations outside your major or field of study. Submit a one-paragraph reflection describing what surprised you, what you learned and how the topic connects to or differs from your major.
• Ask a Question: Attend at least one live presentation and ask a substantive question during the Q&A. Submit a short reflection (three to four sentences) describing your question, the presenter’s response and what you learned from the exchange.
• Write-Up Reflection: Choose one presentation that stood out to you and write a one-page reflection summarizing the project, what you learned and how it connects to this course, your major or your academic interests.
• Deep Dive: After attending a presentation, research one topic or concept related to it. Submit a short write-up (about half a page) describing what you researched, what you learned and how it expanded your understanding of the presentation.

Note: A detailed event schedule will be released as the event approaches.