 Hello everybody! Welcome to the MIT Scale Global Network poster briefing for next January 2019. We are going to introduce you how to be prepared for the research as for next January. So let me introduce myself. My name is Maria Kessoul-Sain. I am the incoming executive director of the blended master program here at MIT. And I'm really looking forward to meeting all of you in January. Hi everyone! I'm Tuva Sanmigil. I'm a research scientist at CTL as well. And we are very excited to have you here in January as well. And today, you all know that January will be a very crowded and busy period for all of us. So at the same time, you will have the chance to show your initial results about your projects in January at Research Expo. So we'll give some details about that Research Expo location and schedule and some points for presentation of the posters. Here today's agenda is including Research Expo location, setup and floor plans and schedule. And then Maria will tell about poster layout and we'll give some examples. And also we'll wrap up some important points to keep in mind. As you all know, Research Expo is a special event hosted by MIT CTL. And there will be almost 200 students coming all across scale centers. And these students will showcase their company sponsored projects to supply chain professionals. So this Research Expo would be the interest of both supply chain executives and recruiting professionals. And here you see that there is a small map of Cambridge including MIT buildings. E40 is the one that we are living as CTL people. And E14 is the medial lab building that Research Expo will be held on top floor of that building. So as a floor plan, it will be on sixth floor and we'll use rooms named as skyline room, winter garden and multipurpose room. It is dotted with the red line as you see and within that red line area on this day on Research Expo day, there will be some buffet tables, serving food beverages and some refreshments. And in the middle you can see that ePoster area to let you present your works. So for scheduling it is not certain yet. It may change, but basically we'll split the students into two groups named as A and B. And totally those groups will have one hour presentation time. In the first session it will be a 30 minutes presentation and the groups will switch to another one. And there will be a guest speaker and during that event there will be a voting process which will close around 7.30pm and at the end there will be an announcement on voting results for the last 15 minutes. Just this voting process is for the awards of the poster. So then be really prepared for, I mean sell your poster in that voting session. Thank you Maria. And from now on Maria will tell about poster layouts and will explain about some examples for some trees. Yeah, I think that this is important to highlight that you are going to be exposed during this session in front of different supply chain professionals and especially your network, your scale network, students coming from all over the world. So it's important that you show your work, the value that you are going to submit to your company, to the sponsor company. So this poster is like your business card in order to detect your potential. So it's important that you work in advance both from the technical point of view and also just to dress this technical work within this poster session. So this is why we wanted to have the same kind of format for all the students within the scale network just to show the same similar kind of element while of course all of you will customize all this content to your particular area, to your particular context. So in this format you will see different elements. Here for example the title, you can include a title that will be different than the title of your project just for focusing on the particular key elements. Also the students names, who is your advisor and if you can because maybe you cannot do it but if you can please include the company that is sponsoring your project. Here you will have, you will show yourself. So actually here you will have your names and the pictures of the project team members. So in terms of content, you will have different elements. So the format is important. So please keep the format constant in all your projects. So starting with the motivation. What is going on? How did you get in that way? So you already presented as deliverable. In most of the cases you have already submitted your motivation and your scope of your project. So this is something that you already have, I mean, done. Key questions. So go to the point, the main research questions. What is the simplest expression of your aim within this project? Relevant literature, keep the same format for all the different sources that you will include here. You don't need to include all of them. Only the most relevant ones. Central graphic is the focal point. So then usually you will use here some picture, nice picture that will catch the attention with different colors. And especially a picture that will summarize the main purpose of your project. You will summarize the problem. So yes, to highlight what is the main elements of your problem. The methodology here typically some students will see in a minute. Some students will use some kind of diagram with different elements, with some arrows. Yes, to show the progression, the spectrum progression of your methodology. How you are going to follow through the different steps of your methodology. Initial results, this is important, right? Because then in January you will show in front of all your mates, in front of all your professionals. The professionals that will see your work. Then you will show how far you have progressed with your project, with your work, right? So then you will need to synthesize what are the initial results that you have obtained through your effort. And expected contribution looking to the future. So what are the expected value that you bring to deliver to the particular company and also to the particular audience. Because maybe some of the results you will generalize in order to be able to make applicable recommendations to the industry. Or maybe to some group of companies, right? So this is the format that you need to follow, so please be attached to that. So we will see now some examples. Some ideas that maybe you would like to apply to your particular context of your project. So this is one example, so for example the title is quite short, but maybe it's too short. So the question here is this title describing the main aim of your project. Here then you will see, you will show a kind of figure, a kind of picture describing, but maybe this is so simplistic, I don't know. In terms of using some graphs, make sure that you include the label of all the two axis here. So here for example is not clear enough what are the units of these different blue and red bars. So what is the message that you want to show here? And especially how your readers will interpret that message, will be easy to interpret or not. Other examples that we will see here, this is very concise title, so five words, no more. This is perfect, describing exactly what you want to describe. So a catchy picture showing, related with the main aim of your project. So here a map describing the scope that the project aims. But for example I will include maybe here some short labeling about what are the different colors means. Here they are showing some quantitative results about the initial contributions in January. For example here I missed something about what are the different units of the different elements in this particular graph. More examples, for example this example is really nice, it's very quite balanced in terms of colors, in terms of content. Maybe the title is too long, so then please be careful with that because you need to catch the attention in the short bit of time. So the longer the title, the most difficult will be to catch this attention. They have a good combination between these two figures, showing here the methodology, so that they know what they are doing or what they are going to do in the future. So that they control the main work behind the project. So a short key question directly to the point structure test in order to highlight the different parts. So I particularly like this exposure. More examples here, please I mean if you would like to highlight something, let me know. Again this is a nice example with very good balance of colors, a catchy figure that is showing the different elements of the particular project. Showing here a short title, here highlighting where and especially I mean where is the problem they are going to build with in terms of motivation and the background. I will advise maybe to change the learner size in order to be more homogeneous along all the different elements of the project. And so here with different diagrams they are showing the different elements of the project. I particularly like it. More examples, again nice pictures showing the main goals with different figures highlighting the different elements and here are some results. Oh for example here again right different balance between the different diagrams. They are concise they are simple but very easy to understand and including almost everything that they want to highlight. So here we are in this particular project and we are increasing the complexity of the posture. So then please pay attention to this balance so sometimes you want to include everything and you cannot include everything here. Why? Because then you will not be able to explain the main elements to your audience. Imagine the setup so you are going to be in front of different professionals who are going to jump from one posture to the other in front of a TV. So in a short period of time you need to highlight what you want to highlight. So maybe here maybe in some parts there is a lot of content for example here on the right hand side you see a lot of different figures. In one shot you cannot describe what it is so it needs additional explanation including all these two figures. Of course you decide and it is true that you want to show your progress but at the same time you want to highlight the most important part. For example here it is great that the students decided to use a map because it is a visual way of showing in this case the balance between supply and demand. But why not instead of using different figures maybe to use different colors. Going to more kind of soft colors to more dark colors in order to show the different grades in these different variables. So it depends the message you want to send but make sure that you are sending this message in the most efficient way. For example in another case this is a very long title here supply chain is repeated twice. You don't need to use supply chain term because we are within master supply chain management. So you don't feel obligated to use supply chain term. Here a lot of content is very difficult to read all these elements almost impossible that would say a lot of details. So you need to keep balance between direct messages that will be outlaw explanatory and also include the effort that you have been doing through all these different ones. So again they are using one, two, three, four, five different diagrams. So it's difficult to catch the attention without a focal point without a picture is really difficult. And I want to add something Maria as you emphasized before. You cannot put everything in the presentation you have to prioritize what you would like to show to the audience. For example for this slide it is very crowded. There are many words that no one can catch the real idea. So if it is possible to please use some catchy maps graphs or pictures and please explain your ideas with with the proper wording. This is too much to to understand the real idea. So yeah, I just want to understand. Yeah, we understand that you want to communicate everything that you have been doing because maybe you are really excited and you have really progressed along your project with the company. This is great, but then the risk of including all this kind of content is that you are not communicating anything right so be careful with this balance is important. And our advice will be to go to your advisor to ask their feedback, go to your mates, maybe to ask them, okay, what do you think? I mean, can you follow the main flow of the of the poster? Can you really understand in a sort of time where the main highlights, right? So yeah, be careful with that. Another example here. So then again, a lot of content here with all these different diagrams. A lot of, I mean, tests here, for example, the yellow part is not easy to read so a lot of figures and graphs. So it's good that you are doing quantitative analysis and then you are showing it showing your predictive analysis, but prioritize, prioritize the most important message you want to highlight here, right? And again, the same with the title, a very long title. Yeah, and and this in this case is nice in terms of balance or nice in terms of figures and nice in terms of the weight of test within the all these different sections, but instead of using a picture, they have decided to use formula here. I think you decide, of course, but I think it is better to cut the attention with a picture that will be autosplanatory. And then that the really the the the the formula is not so important because then here you have included some results out of the formulation, right? So it's most important results that the formula and one more thing I would like to remind you of students for the for the section names, please. Keep the original ones like background motivation problem, you may want to change like here. The titles the subtitles actually according to your thesis like full full search charge definition, but it is, it doesn't make sense to the audience. Okay, because you are using background motivation and then directly to full definition. You need to do that please keep your subtitles as in their original format that we are sending you in the layouts and then make your explanation use your pictures or graphs, whatever. And the formula is not the element that we would like to see in your sections, please be careful about that. Yeah, if you want to highlight some particular time, maybe you can do it within your text. Right, but keep the sections because it will be easier for the audience to follow the same kind of structure in all of you, right? Remember, then you need to pitch to solve your project in a short, very short period of time. So then the easier the better. Okay, some key points to keep in mind. Overall, clean, simple, very visual, including chart figures, photos, but, but especially thinking about the message you want to highlight and to keep the balance between the content and these kind of messages prioritizing the most relevant ones. One more thing I want to add here. And we cannot allow you to use YouTube videos or any sounding or, you know, any animation, any effect on in your presentations, please be careful about that. You can use some animations, they can move, but it is not allowed to use any sound or any videos. Actually, you will receive by email all the instructions, more detailed instructions from the different responsibles, academic administrations, and then you will see all the different details that you need to follow. It's not difficult, but you need to follow the different instructions just to be efficient because we have a lot of students and we have a lot of posters to organize, to schedule. So yeah, it's important that that you follow the instructions. Yes, also for, for, for making sure that you will send the right message to your audience. Yeah, in terms of title as we have already mentioned, clear title, impressive highlighting what you want to highlight. And please don't use vast words that maybe are very fancy, but, but they are not really representing what you are doing because we're also with that. So the, the, the content, the technical meaning is, is, is definitely very, very important. We will prefer five words, even fewer, ideally just to, to catch the attention in a short, in a short, very short sentence. For example, here you have four different very good examples from past years that they are using in this case for words, equal, miracle, chain fulfillment. So there is some kind of action here in the title fulfillment motorcycles for last mile delivery. Inventory efficiency versus risk mitigation. So clearly they are using this tradeoff between inventory and risks reduction of total life cycle time. So they are emphasizing the reduction part right while they don't use supply chain terms as we already mentioned. So it's clear they are direct to the point where they want to show up. More points. So the central picture that is in the focal point of the poster, again, keep it simple, keep it clean, high quality picture. Easy to understand, right? Compelling and it's interesting that this very catchy. No, we will not recommend to use charts, graphs, equation or a lot of words in the picture. So the idea is just to catch the attention. Graphs use large fonts and be balanced in terms of the text that you will include in the graphs, but also make sure that you label both axes in the right way, in a proper way, in a clear way. Make sure that you are attached to the explicit sections that we have included in the format of the poster. Yeah, and don't add any additional sections or change the dimensions. It's important that you are attached to the sections and to customize the different elements inside of each section. Yeah, some checklist, you can, I mean, you can later check. So we'll have some recommendations about the center picture. So it is captivating enough. Easy to understand. The quality, clear, it's not fuzzy. The title short, five or a few words. Easy to understand, especially connected with the technical points, focal point of your project and something that will be interesting for the audience. Charts and graphs, again, easy to understand. Make sure that you do the labels and units, right in the labels and be careful with the font size. Text on the poster, be careful how you balance the different sizes. It was not nice to include big sizes in one size, in one section, sorry, and the smaller in the other, right? Because it is not showing a good balance, a good harmony along the different elements. Be careful also with the number of words, not too busy, but not too light. Check your grammar is very important. We are not going to do it. So then you need to make sure that this perfectly in that sense, overall, how interesting is the poster. You can talk with your mates in order to check again and make sure that you include relevant elements. Yeah, so very quickly, December the 3rd is like a first sub-deliverable, because you need to submit some information about your poster, all these elements. So the title, only the title, but remember that you don't need to include the same title on the project. You need to include top three choices for the category, because we organize all the different posters along these categories and these different elements. So make sure that you select the most appropriate ones. So this is the list here. You can come back to the PowerPoint later or please feel free to ask whatever kind of question with your advisor in terms of this classification. The third point is to identify four key words to be associated with your poster, with your project, among all these different choices. Why? Because again, we have a repository of different documents, different projects. So just for future readers, we need to make sure that the classification is according to the main topics of your project. And the fourth point, two, three sentences for the executive summary, describing those projects. Again, this is for December the 3rd. All these four elements are December the 3rd. And then December the 14th, you need to upload your poster with all this content. And of course, all these elements that are common to the previous ones, I mean, all these elements should be according to the poster you are going to include. So, for example, don't change the title because then the two titles should be the same. We have a question here. So let me see if we are able to submit an update in January. Imagine that we are having, I mean, dozens of posters. So then of course, then we are aware that maybe you will, I mean, would like to change some minor element. But the ideal is that you will not change anything. So make sure that you progress as much as you can till December the 14th. So this is a good challenge for you. I mean, to make sure that you progress till this deadline, this milestone. Yeah, because otherwise it will be difficult and complicated. And talk with your advisor, right? I want to add something that especially be careful about your final poster title because for marketing purposes, you are using this poster title in our flyers, in our advertisement to keep the attraction of supply chain professionals. So it should be matched together. Okay, please be careful about your final poster title. You can change some small points, some small mistakes. That doesn't matter. You can ask your advisor, but we prefer to keep the original poster title and many things we are going to stop here.