The global online poster conference run by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) each year continues to grow as it hits its 10-year anniversary. Formerly held on the social media platform Twitter – now X – and known as #RSCposter, the event moved to LinkedIn last year and saw record participation. Over 80 posters were uploaded at the inaugural event in 2015 and there were more than 1700 registrants in 2024.
This year’s #RSCposter conference kicks off at 12.00pm GMT on 4 March and runs for 24 hours. During that time chemists around the world will be sharing their research, engaging in scientific debate, asking questions and networking. Organisers hope that more chemists than ever will be taking part this year.
The event will include 14 subject categories across the chemical sciences, including food chemistry which was introduced last year.
One winner and one runner-up will be selected in each area. The winning entries will be determined by committees led by subject chairs who are active researchers with expertise in specific fields. The winners and runners-up each receive cash prizes of £120 and £60, respectively. In addition, a £20 community prize is awarded for the most engaging poster, as well as a £60 #RSCPosterPitch prize for the best video pitch.
‘We do have poster prize winners, but the ultimate aim of this is just to share your research and get involved in networking,’ explains Natalie Cotterell, a development editor at the RSC who is this year’s #RSCposter conference organiser and was a co-organiser of last year’s event. ‘We want active researchers on LinkedIn to comment and ask questions and discuss, debate – what you would normally do at a normal in-person poster conference,’ she adds.
Participants are asked to register by 3 March, which means setting up a LinkedIn account. The #RSCPoster hashtag must also be used when posting a submission.
In terms of guidance for designing a poster, the RSC recommends that presenters keep it simple, summarising the main aspects of the work through graphics and figures rather than text. This year, they are also urged to incorporate the concept of 10 into their poster to commemorate the conference’s anniversary.
Font size and format is another important consideration given that the posters will be read on digital devices. If possible, the RSC recommends that posters allow high-resolution zooming in. ‘Usually, if you go to an in-person conference, your poster will be blown up to A0 size, whereas on LinkedIn it’s on a bit of a smaller screen and so you need to factor that in,’ Cotterell explains.
In conjunction with their e-posters, presenters are also encouraged to upload a one- or two-minute video to #RSCPosterPitch highlighting the importance of the research behind their posters and creativity – including songs, animations and graphics – is recommended.
Cotterell highlights some notable poster entries from previous years, including analytical chemists communicating chemistry research concepts creatively in formats like cartoon strips.
Each year, the number of registrants from around the world continues to grow with every continent except Antarctica represented. The number of scientists participating has doubled over the last five years alone.
Sarah Boudreau, a fourth-year PhD candidate at Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada whose poster presenting her research on the valorisation of seafood processing wastes was a winner last year, described taking part in the event as ‘one of the highlights’ of her PhD degree.
She said that the #RSCPoster conference provides ‘an opportunity to engage with chemists globally who are also specialised in your field’ and offers ‘a perspective on research being done across the world and it is a fantastic way of making connections outside of your local community’.
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