Engaging Graduate Students with an Images of Research Competition

Abstract

Once a year, graduate students are invited to showcase their research by submitting a high-resolution image, accompanied by a title and short, plain-language description explaining how the image represents their research, to the University of Alberta (UAlberta) Libraries' Images of Research competition. This competition provides graduate students the opportunity to tell the story of their research to the broader campus community, encourages them to develop professional communication skills, and fosters community, while leveraging library expertise and spaces to promote the research occurring on campus. Submissions that meet eligibility requirements are judged on their originality, aesthetic appeal, relationship between the image and the student's research, and clarity of the accompanying title and description by a panel consisting of faculty, graduate students, and design or communications professionals. Twenty-four images are selected as semi-finalists, with six prize winners, including a People's Choice award, chosen from this group. Prize winners are announced at a catered reception in the library, where an exhibition of winning and semi-finalist entries remains on display for approximately one month. Winner and semi-finalist images are deposited in ERA [1], UAlberta's open access institutional repository after the conclusion of the competition. Entrants are surveyed after the competition so that their feedback can guide future iterations of the event, and the overall response has been extremely positive. The archived images have been featured in the UAlberta's alumni magazine, New Trail, on social media, as displays for meetings and in the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research offices. The involvement of campus partners is a significant contributor to the ongoing success of the competition.