phd work presentation

PhD Dissertation Defense Slides Design: Start

• Tips for designing the slides
• Presentation checklist
• Example slides
• Additional Resources

Purpose of the Guide

This guide was created to help ph.d. students in engineering fields to design dissertation defense presentations. the guide provides 1) tips on how to effectively communicate research, and 2) full presentation examples from ph.d. graduates. the tips on designing effective slides are not restricted to dissertation defense presentations; they can be used in designing other types of presentations such as conference talks, qualification and proposal exams, and technical seminars., the tips and examples are used to help students to design effective presentation. the technical contents in all examples are subject to copyright, please do not replicate. , if you need help in designing your presentation, please contact julie chen ([email protected]) for individual consultation. .

• Example Slides Repository
• Defense slides examples Link to examples dissertation defense slides.

Useful Links

• CIT Thesis and dissertation standards
• Dissertations and Theses @ Carnegie Mellon This link opens in a new window Covers 1920-present. Full text of some dissertations may be available 1997-present. Citations and abstracts of dissertations and theses CMU graduate students have published through UMI Dissertation Publishing. In addition to citations and abstracts, the service provides free access to 24 page previews and the full text in PDF format, when available. In most cases, this will be works published in 1997 forward.
• Communicate your research data Data visualization is very important in communicating your data effectively. Check out these do's and don'ts for designing figures.

Power Point Template and other Resources

• CEE Powerpoint Slide Presentation Template 1
• CEE Powerpoint Slide Presentation Template 2

Source: CEE Department Resources https://www.cmu.edu/cee/resources/index.html

• CMU Powerpoint Slide Template

Source: CMU Marketing and Communications

https://www.cmu.edu/marcom/brand-standards/downloads/index.html

• Use of CMU logos, marks, and Unitmarks

Email me for questions and schedule an appointment

Top 7 tips for your defense presentation

1. show why your study is important, remember, your audience is your committee members, researchers in other fields, and even the general public. you want to convince all of them why you deserve a ph.d. degree. you need to talk about why your study is important to the world. in the engineering field, you also need to talk about how your study is useful. try to discuss why current practice is problematic or not good enough, what needs to be solved, and what the potential benefits will be. , see how dr. posen and dr. malings explained the importance of their studies..

• Carl Malings Defense Slides with Notes
• I. Daniel Posen Defense Slides with Notes

2. Emphasize YOUR contribution 

Having a ph.d. means that you have made some novel contributions to the grand field. this is about you and your research. you need to keep emphasizing your contributions throughout your presentation. after talking about what needs to be solved, try to focus on emphasizing the novelty of your work. what problems can be solved using your research outcomes what breakthroughs have you made to the field why are your methods and outcomes outstanding you need to incorporate answers to these questions in your presentation. , be clear what your contributions are in the introduction section; separate what was done by others and what was done by you. , 3. connect your projects into a whole piece of work, you might have been doing multiple projects that are not strongly connected. to figure out how to connect them into a whole piece, use visualizations such as flow charts to convince your audience. the two slides below are two examples. in the first slide, which was presented in the introduction section, the presenter used a flow diagram to show the connection between the three projects. in the second slide, the presenter used key figures and a unique color for each project to show the connection..

• Xiaoju Chen Defense Slides with Notes

4. Tell a good story 

The committee members do not necessarily have the same background knowledge as you. plus, there could be researchers from other fields and even the general public in the room. you want to make sure all of your audience can understand as much as possible. focus on the big picture rather than technical details; make sure you use simple language to explain your methods and results. your committee has read your dissertation before your defense, but others have not. , dr. cook and dr. velibeyoglu did a good job explaining their research to everyone. the introduction sessions in their presentations are well designed for this purpose. .

• Laren M. Cook Defense Slides with Notes
• Irem Velibeyoglu Defense with Notes

5. Transition, transition, transition

Use transition slides to connect projects , it's a long presentation with different research projects. you want to use some sort of transition to remind your audience what you have been talking about and what is next. you may use a slide that is designed for this purpose throughout your presentation. , below are two examples. these slides were presented after the introduction section. the presenters used the same slides and highlighted the items for project one to indicate that they were moving on to the first project. throughout the presentation, they used these slides and highlighted different sections to indicate how these projects fit into the whole dissertation. .

You can also use some other indications on your slides, but remember not to make your slides too busy.  Below are two examples. In the first example, the presenter used chapter numbers to indicate what he was talking about. In the second example, the presenter used a progress bar with keywords for each chapter as the indicator. 

Use transition sentences to connect slides 

Remember transition sentences are also important; use them to summarize what you have said and tell your audience what they will expect next. if you keep forgetting the transition sentence, write a note on your presentation. you can either write down a full sentence of what you want to say or some keywords., 6. be brief, put details in backup slides , you won't have time to explain all of the details. if your defense presentation is scheduled for 45 minutes, you can only spend around 10 minutes for each project - that's shorter than a normal research conference presentation focus on the big picture and leave details behind. you can put the details in your backup slides, so you might find them useful when your committee (and other members of the audience) ask questions regarding these details., 7. show your presentation to your advisor and colleagues, make sure to ask your advisor(s) for their comments. they might have a different view on what should be emphasized and what should be elaborated. , you also want to practice at least once in front of your colleagues. they can be your lab mates, people who work in your research group, and/or your friends. they do not have to be experts in your field. ask them to give you some feedback - their comments can be extremely helpful to improve your presentation. , below are some other tips and resources to design your defense presentation. .

• Tips for designing your defense presentation

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Princeton Correspondents on Undergraduate Research

How to Make a Successful Research Presentation

Turning a research paper into a visual presentation is difficult; there are pitfalls, and navigating the path to a brief, informative presentation takes time and practice. As a TA for  GEO/WRI 201: Methods in Data Analysis & Scientific Writing this past fall, I saw how this process works from an instructor’s standpoint. I’ve presented my own research before, but helping others present theirs taught me a bit more about the process. Here are some tips I learned that may help you with your next research presentation:

More is more

In general, your presentation will always benefit from more practice, more feedback, and more revision. By practicing in front of friends, you can get comfortable with presenting your work while receiving feedback. It is hard to know how to revise your presentation if you never practice. If you are presenting to a general audience, getting feedback from someone outside of your discipline is crucial. Terms and ideas that seem intuitive to you may be completely foreign to someone else, and your well-crafted presentation could fall flat.

Less is more

Limit the scope of your presentation, the number of slides, and the text on each slide. In my experience, text works well for organizing slides, orienting the audience to key terms, and annotating important figures–not for explaining complex ideas. Having fewer slides is usually better as well. In general, about one slide per minute of presentation is an appropriate budget. Too many slides is usually a sign that your topic is too broad.

Limit the scope of your presentation

Don’t present your paper. Presentations are usually around 10 min long. You will not have time to explain all of the research you did in a semester (or a year!) in such a short span of time. Instead, focus on the highlight(s). Identify a single compelling research question which your work addressed, and craft a succinct but complete narrative around it.

You will not have time to explain all of the research you did. Instead, focus on the highlights. Identify a single compelling research question which your work addressed, and craft a succinct but complete narrative around it.

Craft a compelling research narrative

After identifying the focused research question, walk your audience through your research as if it were a story. Presentations with strong narrative arcs are clear, captivating, and compelling.

• Introduction (exposition — rising action)

Orient the audience and draw them in by demonstrating the relevance and importance of your research story with strong global motive. Provide them with the necessary vocabulary and background knowledge to understand the plot of your story. Introduce the key studies (characters) relevant in your story and build tension and conflict with scholarly and data motive. By the end of your introduction, your audience should clearly understand your research question and be dying to know how you resolve the tension built through motive.

• Methods (rising action)

The methods section should transition smoothly and logically from the introduction. Beware of presenting your methods in a boring, arc-killing, ‘this is what I did.’ Focus on the details that set your story apart from the stories other people have already told. Keep the audience interested by clearly motivating your decisions based on your original research question or the tension built in your introduction.

• Results (climax)

Less is usually more here. Only present results which are clearly related to the focused research question you are presenting. Make sure you explain the results clearly so that your audience understands what your research found. This is the peak of tension in your narrative arc, so don’t undercut it by quickly clicking through to your discussion.

• Discussion (falling action)

By now your audience should be dying for a satisfying resolution. Here is where you contextualize your results and begin resolving the tension between past research. Be thorough. If you have too many conflicts left unresolved, or you don’t have enough time to present all of the resolutions, you probably need to further narrow the scope of your presentation.

• Conclusion (denouement)

Return back to your initial research question and motive, resolving any final conflicts and tying up loose ends. Leave the audience with a clear resolution of your focus research question, and use unresolved tension to set up potential sequels (i.e. further research).

Use your medium to enhance the narrative

Visual presentations should be dominated by clear, intentional graphics. Subtle animation in key moments (usually during the results or discussion) can add drama to the narrative arc and make conflict resolutions more satisfying. You are narrating a story written in images, videos, cartoons, and graphs. While your paper is mostly text, with graphics to highlight crucial points, your slides should be the opposite. Adapting to the new medium may require you to create or acquire far more graphics than you included in your paper, but it is necessary to create an engaging presentation.

The most important thing you can do for your presentation is to practice and revise. Bother your friends, your roommates, TAs–anybody who will sit down and listen to your work. Beyond that, think about presentations you have found compelling and try to incorporate some of those elements into your own. Remember you want your work to be comprehensible; you aren’t creating experts in 10 minutes. Above all, try to stay passionate about what you did and why. You put the time in, so show your audience that it’s worth it.

For more insight into research presentations, check out these past PCUR posts written by Emma and Ellie .

— Alec Getraer, Natural Sciences Correspondent

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• How to Give a Presentation as A PhD Student
• Doing a PhD

At some point in their career, most researchers will be asked to give a presentation at a conference. These podium talks can be a brilliant way to promote yourself as an academic and also to disseminate your work to a wider audience. Standing up and giving a talk to a large audience can feel scary, particularly if you feel under-prepared. However, with enough preparation and practice this could become an enjoyable experience and maybe even one you look forward to!

Here are a few tips from us to help you with preparation for your next (or first) presentation.

Keep It Simple

Typically, any talk you give will be accompanied by a series of slides. The key thing to remember here is ‘less is more’. Keep the message on each slide very clear with minimal text and ideally an image on every slide. Remember that these slides are designed to support what you’re talking about rather than being a script to read from.

Have a Structure

Prepare your slides with a logical structure in mind. If you’re presenting an experimental study, this may be as simple as: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion. Think about what one thing you want the audience to take away from your talk – what’s the take-home message? A common mantra that’s used by many researchers is to (1) tell the audience what you’re going to tell them, (2) tell them and (3) tell them what you’ve told them. Simple!

Practice, Practice, Practice

There’s really no better substitute for building confidence in giving your talk than by practising it as much as you can. That’s not to say that you should learn it word for word and simply repeat from memory, but it should feel very natural by the time you come to present. A great idea is to write out a script of what you’d like to say and then amend it as you read it out aloud – you’ll find the way you structure your sentences or the words you use may differ slightly as you present out loud versus just writing down in text form.

Practice by yourself as you’re developing your thoughts and the flow of your talk but make sure you also practice in front of others, such as those in your lab, your supervisor and your friends and family.

It’s All in The Delivery

You know what you’re going to say, make sure you also practice how you’re going to say it. Make a conscious effort to speak a little (emphasis on the little!) slower than you normally would. Don’t forget to breathe and be happy – this is a chance to show off the great work that you’ve been doing. Speak clearly and not too quietly and try to connect with your audience – think of this as a discussion you’re having with them about your research. If you can, try to arrive at the presentation hall before others arrive so you have an opportunity to stand at the podium and visualise yourself giving your talk – this way when you go up to present, the environment will be a little more familiar to you. Enjoy it!

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Tress Academic

#44: What to present from your PhD study when you don’t have a lot to show yet?

March 10, 2020 by Tress Academic

Were you asked by your supervisor to present your PhD work at a research seminar? Perhaps there’s an annual PhD-day in your graduate school where all new PhDs have to present their work. Or your funding body requires you to give a first project presentation. Reluctantly, you agreed, but you don’t feel too good about it because as you are not very far into your PhD project, you think you have nothing to show yet. What do you do now? What can you present with only incomplete results from your own PhD to work with? Follow our suggestions and develop a structured content plan that can still impress! 

We remember the first presentations of our own PhD work very well. Our expectations of these first talks were sky-high. We wanted them to be not just good, they should be impressive so that everybody understands and likes the work we are doing and encourages us to go ahead. 

But deep inside there was a little voice telling us that it probably wouldn’t go down like this. Our PhD studies had not progressed far enough. We couldn’t present all the good stuff that we’d hoped to have found by the end of the project. It wasn’t that we couldn’t present because the data collection was incomplete – all we had were ideas and good intentions. How could somebody ask us to present our work at such an early stage? But we were asked! Our supervisors had simply signed us up to the upcoming research seminars. So what could we possibly present? 

Is this a situation you will eventually find yourself in as well? Did your supervisor also “suggest” you give a presentation of your PhD study soon? Or do you have other requirements that compel you to present your work? Are you also thinking it’s far too early because you have nothing to show yet? 

If you’ve answered YES to these questions, keep reading, because TRESS ACADEMIC can help you. We’ll give you quality suggestions and ideas for what you can present even if your own research results are not ready yet. On top of that, we’ll tell you how to get the most out of this presentation and how to deliver it well. Best of all, you can download our free worksheet to create a “Content plan for early PhD presentations” to be on the safe side the next time you are asked to present. Let’s start by analyzing this presentation and ways to use what you do have from your PhD effectively.

1. What is the purpose of the event and who is the audience? 

The first step would be to identify the purpose of the event you are presenting at. Is it a recurring event at your institute, like a research seminar series that comes up every month? Or is it a single event that was set up for a special occasion? Will you be the only presenter at the event or are multiple speakers scheduled? It’s important to have an idea about the intentions behind getting these people together to listen to you and other presenters.

The second step is to find out who is attending the event. Will it be people from your cohort, your institute and your university or will it also include people from outside? Will you know the people who attend or, like most conferences, will it be a mixed bag of researchers from your field, most of whom you don’t know? Knowing the people who you are presenting your work to makes a huge difference when selecting your presentation content and form. 

Once you have the answers to step one and two, then you can better identify what the purpose of your presentation will be. Knowing this will aid you to prepare the appropriate content for the occasion.

These kinds of events can have multiple purposes. Your aim for giving a presentation there could be:  

• to present your PhD research to (international) peers
• to inform members of your institute about the research that you are currently doing at their institute
• to receive constructive input and criticism on the PhD work that you present
• to discuss problems that have come up in your work and to ask for possible solutions
• to inform your supervisory committee or your thesis advisory committee about the progress of your project
• to gain experience in presenting in front of an audience
• to have the possibility to attend an international meeting 

and more. 

The purpose and the type of event also influences how long you are expected to present. At an internal meeting at your institute, your presentation could span of 15-30 minutes plus time for discussion. At a conference, it is more likely to be 5-15 minutes, including poster presentations or mini presentations. 

Find out more of these details before you decide what to present. The better you know the context, the better you can define what would be a good fit. 

2. Content that you could present  

When you are still in the early phase of your PhD project, there are not many original findings that you can base your presentation around. Everybody is aware of this and so don’t worry, you are not expected to present anything final or groundbreaking. Instead, you have several content options that you could talk about: 

A) Give a project overview

Present to your audience what your project is about. Tell them what the aim of your research is, which methods you plan on using, how you will collect and treat your data and what most likely will be your research aim. Try to also include aspects that are unknown or difficult for you to get feedback on. Don’t forget to give a short outlook on the potential benefits of your work. 

Taking this type of classical approach to your presentation content always works. Your audience will get a full overview on your PhD topic, the aim, the methods and expected outcomes. Typically, the audience will come with their own questions on various aspects of your presentation as you cover many different things at once. 

You want to keep this presentation rather short because what you want to achieve is your audience getting an overview on your project and its potential outcomes. They do not need to understand every single detail or consideration, so if they are interested in learning more they can ask you afterwards. You want to leave the audience with the impression that the project you are working on is interesting, relevant and achievable. 

B) Give a state-of-the-art report on your research problem

In this type of presentation, you should focus less on the work that is still to be done in your project and focus instead on the research aim of your work. You are providing the wider background or “bigger picture” of your PhD project. 

A presentation like this is based on a detailed literature review of your research problem, which you’ve usually completed in the initial phase of your PhD anyway. Now you can show the audience what the larger context is and how your own project is embedded within it. At the end, you’ll briefly sum up the major steps of your research design (if you know them already) to give the audience a glimpse of how you’ve approached the problem that you presented. 

This presentation is particularly helpful in the very early stages of a PhD project. You want to leave the audience with the impression that they have understood why you do what you do in your project. They should be able to place your work within the bigger context of research in your field. 

C) Give a justification for why your project is needed  

This presentation is less about the background of your PhD project but more about its relevance. You won’t go into the full details of the literature review, but rather you draw a picture of the burning problem that you’re addressing and why you need to do something about it. 

Be careful not to sound too pretentious in your presentation. This is often a risk for these type of presentations. You’ll probably make clear to everybody that the problem you are working on is a relevant one, but this does not automatically mean that the project is good. Try to convince your audience with the quality of the approach you developed to address the research problem. You need to convince the audience of two things: first, the relevance of the problem and second, the quality of your work to address the problem. Thus, you should already know quite a bit about the research steps you will go through even though you have not yet conducted them. This type of presentation content is suitable for occasions where the audience is not working on the same topic as you on a daily basis.   

You want to leave the audience with a clear understanding of the relevance and importance of your work. They should become aware of the potential benefits that arise once you will have successfully completed your project.

D) Give an outlook on a potential application of your work  

In some PhD projects, you are working towards a concrete application that will result directly or indirectly from your work. This application should be the content for this type of presentation. 

If the problem and the relevance of your work are clear and not a question of debate, your presentation could instead focus on the moment the work is completed. You briefly sketch out the problem, how you address it and then draw attention to the (multiple) applications that your findings could lead to. Such content is particularly valuable for an audience that works in the same field and has a clear understanding of the potential applications that your work addresses. 

You want to leave the audience with the impression that they appreciate your project because of its strong real-world impact. They see that your PhD project is one step on the way to reach something else important. This type of presentation is interesting for the audience as it will shift the focus from the project level (research) to the real world (potential application), which is farther reaching. 

E) Give the first results 

In this presentation, you present the first (preliminary) results from your work to your audience. You give them an introduction to the problem so that they understand your research aim and you tell them how you’ve approached it. 

Then, you focus on one or a few aspects where you already have results. Leave out a report of all other aspects or potential results that you might achieve, as they blur the picture. Also avoid reporting any method steps that are not related to your presented results. If somebody wants to know more about it, they can ask afterwards. 

This type of talk is equally suitable for conferences as research seminars where you inform peers on the progress and findings resulting from your work. In this talk, you discuss problems, validity, reliability, and consequences of your first results. You want to leave your audience with the impression that you have already made the first steps in your work and that these steps look promising. 

F) Give insight into problems that you struggle with 

With this type of presentation your aim is to openly discuss the problems and struggles in your work. This can be the most difficult type of presentation for you to present, but also the one where you stand to benefit the most. You can pick the brains of your audience and basically say: This is what I want to do, this is how I want to do it, but I have this problem … any ideas how to solve it?”

When you pick this kind of content for your presentation, your aim is not to show what you have achieved or done, but to ask for advice and support from your colleagues on a problem that came up during your work. Clearly, this type of presentation is more suitable in environments where you don’t feel exposed, but respected, and surrounded by people who want to support you. 

You want to leave the audience with the impression that you are working on an interesting project which you are confident enough in to ask your fellow colleagues for advice to improve it. Most likely, they will appreciate your openness and are happy to advise. It also gives your audience a far more active role to play in your presentation than in any of the other types of content suggested above. 

3. A few words on how to present this content

Sure, the content that you present is an important element of a good early PhD presentation, but so is HOW you present it. As a quick guide, stick to the following five principles for a good presentation experience: 

• Less is more when it comes to content. Don’t get lost in too many nitty-gritty details that dilute your message. 
• Be an engaged presenter, show enthusiasm for your work and interact with your audience. 
• Express yourself in simple words and communicate visually. 
• Have a clear take-home message that people can relate to. 
• Rehearse your talk and know what you want to say. 

We have published a handful of guides that support you in how to plan, prepare and deliver your (first) presentation, so have a look at the resources list below. 

Conclusion  

Next time your supervisor comes in and asks you for a short presentation on your PhD project, you don’t need to be scared. If you downloaded our free worksheet “Content plan for my early PhD presentations” , you will be well prepared to take on a spontaneous presentation slot. Analyse exactly what the purpose of the presentation is and then go for the most appropriate content to present and you will make a great impression! We know you can do it!

Soon we will be offering a free PhD Webinar to help you progress with your PhD project – if you’re interested, sign up here.    

Relevant resources: 

• Free worksheet: Content plan for my early PhD presentations
• Smart Academics Blog#3: How to cope with stage fright?
• Smart Academics Blog #7: Why your next presentation matters
• Smart Academics Blog #11: How much time is needed to prepare a good presentation?
• Smart Academics Blog #15: 5 smart strategies to get most out of conference posters 
• Smart Academics Blog #19: The 5 best free photo databases for your scientific presentation
• Smart Academics Blog #20: Best scientific photo databases  
• Smart Academics Blog #26: First conference presentation? 17 life-saving tips
• Smart Academics Blog #30: Questions from the audience you should be prepared to answer
• Smart Academics Blog #95: Apply these 5 tips to improve any presentation
• Expert Guide: 6 Reasons Why Presentations Can Fail 

Related courses and services:

• 1-day course: Presenting successfully at virtual conferences
• 3-day course: How to present at international conferences
• 1-to-1 advice: Presentation Check

More information:  

Do you want to successfully complete your PhD study? If so, please sign up to receive our free guides .  

© 2020 Tress Academic

#PhD #Presentation #ResearchSeminar #DoctoralStudy 

PhD Defense Template

You’ve done the hard work to prepare your PhD dissertation, and now there’s only one step left: your defense. And Beautiful.ai has the perfect presentation template to help you along the way.

These customizable template slides have all the basic elements of a PhD defense presentation, including an abstract, methodology, research findings, executive summary, and more. The result? A streamlined presentation that’s as professional as it is impressive. All with just a few clicks of the mouse. 

Our PhD defense template can also help you:

• Customize your PhD presentation for different audiences
• Synthesize months of academic work into a concise presentation
• Successfully defend your PhD thesis to your panel

Use our template to create an effective PhD defense presentation

Your PhD defense presentation is a critical step in your academic journey – one that requires a smart and sophisticated format, layout, and story flow. That’s why our template includes everything you need to create an effective presentation. Tailoring this defense template to your unique PhD thesis is simple. Whether you need to create additional data points or showcase more findings, you can quickly bring your visions to life with these customizable templates and our entire library of professionally designed template slides.

Pro Tips for creating your own PhD defense presentation template

When you are thinking of creating your own impactful Phd defense presentation, keep these best practices in mind:

Condensing hours and hours of research can be daunting. Build an outline or table of contents first, then simply stick to that structure as you create your presentation.

It can be easy to get caught up in your research and findings, but don’t forget to answer critical questions like, ‘Why is this important?’ and ‘What results have you achieved?’

Remember: You aren’t recreating your entire thesis into a visual presentation. Limit the amount of content and data you add to each slide.

Your PhD defense presentation is your chance to share all of your hard work. Don’t be afraid to showcase bits of your personality throughout.

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How to Give Killer Presentations as a PhD Student

It is said that the fear of public speaking is the greatest fear that most people have, and it is true. Fear of public speaking is greater than even the fear of death.

As a PhD student, you will be required to give public presentations on numerous occasions: during class work, during meetings with your supervisors, at scientific conferences, and when defending your proposal and thesis.

Developing effective presentation skills is therefore important for all PhD students to enable them give killer presentations.

In this article, I cover some useful tips that will help PhD students (and anyone else for that matter) give killer presentations.

Preparing for your presentation

Practice makes perfect, brainstorm on the key messages, get feedback on your presentation before your presentation day, address your fear ahead of time, creating your powerpoint/keynote slides, giving your presentation, final thoughts on giving killer presentations.

The difference between a killer presentation and a boring one lies in the amount of effort and time that goes into preparation.

To prepare for a presentation, you need to:

Finalise the presentation at least a week before the presentation day.

Rehearse the presentation on video and play it to see your areas of weakness that need improvement.

Repeat the rehearsal while working on the areas of improvement until you are comfortable with what you see.

Narrow down your key messages to what you want your audience to know.

Prepare a few stories relevant to your presentation; each key message with its own story. Stories help your audience remember your key points and ideas.

Share your video recording with a few trusted friends and colleagues and seek their honest feedback.

Constructive feedback includes: which key points they remember and which slides are memorable to them. If they remember something from your presentation, then you have done a good job.

It is normal to be afraid of giving presentations.

Fear mostly comes when one is uncertain of what to say.

To address your fear, practice your presentation until you can give it without referring to your slides. This will help to build your confidence.

Whichever medium you use for your presentation, whether PowerPoint or Keynote or Google slides, does not matter. What matters is how you create the slides. To create memorable and interesting slides:

• Use less text and more of visuals: it is easier for people to understand and remember visuals rather than chunks of text. Visuals can be charts and graphs, pictures, tables, maps, animations, etc. Use one visual per slide.
• If your slide must have text, use few bullet points.
• Have as few number of slides as possible; a handful of slides is the ideal.
• If you have a lot of data and information to share with your audience, it is better to prepare a separate handout and share with your audience either earlier (if possible), or just before you give your presentation. Limit your PowerPoint presentation to just the key ideas.
• Each slide should reflect one distinct idea.
• Make sure the fonts, font size and font colours used in the PowerPoint slides are legible.
• The sequence of the slides should be done thoughtfully and should enable a smooth flow of ideas and information.
• Always rehearse your PowerPoint presentation including the duration of the presentation. If you have 10 minutes to present, then time yourself to present within 10 minutes during the rehearsal.

The following are useful tips to follow during the presentation:

• Always carry your own laptop and other supplies that you will need for your presentation, for instance, a remote control. Do not assume that the host will provide. Having your own laptop and supplies also ensures that you don’t waste time trying to learn someone else’s supplies.
• If presenting in a new location, arrive at the place at least an hour before the event starts so that you familiarise yourself with the room and where everything is including the lighting, the lantern, the projector etc. If possible practice giving the presentation at that location. This will help calm your nerves and build your confidence.
• Do not start your presentation with the boring introductions that most presenters give; instead give a statement, share a short story, ask a question; something out of the ordinary but which is relevant to what you are presenting on.
• Do not put up your slides first; instead converse and engage with your audience and then put up your slides. This will force your audience to really pay attention to what you are saying rather than focusing on what is on the slides. This applies to every time you want to move to a new slide; talk about the idea and then put up the slide to emphasise what you have talked about. The advantage of this strategy is that your audience is not forced to multi-task by reading the slides and listening to you talk. Instead they are able to focus on one thing at a time.
• You as the presenter should lead the show, not the slides. This means that for every idea you want to talk about, introduce it, give some details about it, provide examples, stories or case study on it, and then put up the slide. This is the preferred sequence of your presentation.
• You should always carry a sheet of paper with the main ideas for your presentation, written or printed in large fonts. This sheet of paper comes in handy when you forget your next point of discussion or when you want to quickly check what you will present next without putting up the slides. It is also useful in case technology fails and your PowerPoint or the laptop refuses to open. In such a case, the show will not be interrupted or stopped but will simply continue because you have the key ideas on the piece of paper.
• While discussing your ideas, make sure the slides are blank (you can hit the letter B on your keyboard to make the slides go blank, or letter W to whiten the screen). This will force your audience to look at you instead of at the slides.
• Your body language is key when giving presentations. Your hands, eyes and body should move naturally as if conversing with friends and colleagues. Do not stand stiff in one place; instead move around the place naturally. Your eyes should also look at individual members of your audience, each at a time without staring at them. Your hands should also move and gesture naturally. Body language tells your audience whether you are relaxed, comfortable and confident, or not.
• Besides body language, the audio should also be audible enough to ensure that your audience is not struggling to hear what you are saying. Practicing and recording yourself on video or audio helps to diagnose any voice problems and to work on them before your presentation.
• Your voice should not be too low, too loud, too monotonous, too high-pitched. You should sound as normal as possible and as if you are conversing with your audience. You should also vary the tone of your voice to reflect what you are presenting.

No one was born knowing how to give killer presentations. Public speaking is a learned and acquired skill. Anyone can become a great public speaker and give killer presentations. All it requires is to prepare in advance, learn from great speakers, and practise until you perfect the skill.

How to Network as a PhD Student

Grace Njeri-Otieno

Grace Njeri-Otieno is a Kenyan, a wife, a mom, and currently a PhD student, among many other balls she juggles. She holds a Bachelors' and Masters' degrees in Economics and has more than 7 years' experience with an INGO. She was inspired to start this site so as to share the lessons learned throughout her PhD journey with other PhD students. Her vision for this site is "to become a go-to resource center for PhD students in all their spheres of learning."

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How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation of Your Research Paper

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A research paper presentation is often used at conferences and in other settings where you have an opportunity to share your research, and get feedback from your colleagues. Although it may seem as simple as summarizing your research and sharing your knowledge, successful research paper PowerPoint presentation examples show us that there’s a little bit more than that involved.

In this article, we’ll highlight how to make a PowerPoint presentation from a research paper, and what to include (as well as what NOT to include). We’ll also touch on how to present a research paper at a conference.

Purpose of a Research Paper Presentation

The purpose of presenting your paper at a conference or forum is different from the purpose of conducting your research and writing up your paper. In this setting, you want to highlight your work instead of including every detail of your research. Likewise, a presentation is an excellent opportunity to get direct feedback from your colleagues in the field. But, perhaps the main reason for presenting your research is to spark interest in your work, and entice the audience to read your research paper.

So, yes, your presentation should summarize your work, but it needs to do so in a way that encourages your audience to seek out your work, and share their interest in your work with others. It’s not enough just to present your research dryly, to get information out there. More important is to encourage engagement with you, your research, and your work.

Tips for Creating Your Research Paper Presentation

In addition to basic PowerPoint presentation recommendations, which we’ll cover later in this article, think about the following when you’re putting together your research paper presentation:

• Know your audience : First and foremost, who are you presenting to? Students? Experts in your field? Potential funders? Non-experts? The truth is that your audience will probably have a bit of a mix of all of the above. So, make sure you keep that in mind as you prepare your presentation.

Know more about: Discover the Target Audience .

• Your audience is human : In other words, they may be tired, they might be wondering why they’re there, and they will, at some point, be tuning out. So, take steps to help them stay interested in your presentation. You can do that by utilizing effective visuals, summarize your conclusions early, and keep your research easy to understand.
• Running outline : It’s not IF your audience will drift off, or get lost…it’s WHEN. Keep a running outline, either within the presentation or via a handout. Use visual and verbal clues to highlight where you are in the presentation.
• Where does your research fit in? You should know of work related to your research, but you don’t have to cite every example. In addition, keep references in your presentation to the end, or in the handout. Your audience is there to hear about your work.
• Plan B : Anticipate possible questions for your presentation, and prepare slides that answer those specific questions in more detail, but have them at the END of your presentation. You can then jump to them, IF needed.

What Makes a PowerPoint Presentation Effective?

You’ve probably attended a presentation where the presenter reads off of their PowerPoint outline, word for word. Or where the presentation is busy, disorganized, or includes too much information. Here are some simple tips for creating an effective PowerPoint Presentation.

• Less is more: You want to give enough information to make your audience want to read your paper. So include details, but not too many, and avoid too many formulas and technical jargon.
• Clean and professional : Avoid excessive colors, distracting backgrounds, font changes, animations, and too many words. Instead of whole paragraphs, bullet points with just a few words to summarize and highlight are best.
• Know your real-estate : Each slide has a limited amount of space. Use it wisely. Typically one, no more than two points per slide. Balance each slide visually. Utilize illustrations when needed; not extraneously.
• Keep things visual : Remember, a PowerPoint presentation is a powerful tool to present things visually. Use visual graphs over tables and scientific illustrations over long text. Keep your visuals clean and professional, just like any text you include in your presentation.

Know more about our Scientific Illustrations Services .

Another key to an effective presentation is to practice, practice, and then practice some more. When you’re done with your PowerPoint, go through it with friends and colleagues to see if you need to add (or delete excessive) information. Double and triple check for typos and errors. Know the presentation inside and out, so when you’re in front of your audience, you’ll feel confident and comfortable.

How to Present a Research Paper

If your PowerPoint presentation is solid, and you’ve practiced your presentation, that’s half the battle. Follow the basic advice to keep your audience engaged and interested by making eye contact, encouraging questions, and presenting your information with enthusiasm.

We encourage you to read our articles on how to present a scientific journal article and tips on giving good scientific presentations .

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Improve the flow and writing of your research paper with Language Editing Plus. This service includes unlimited editing, manuscript formatting for the journal of your choice, reference check and even a customized cover letter. Learn more here , and get started today!

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Top 10 Thesis Timeline Templates with Samples and Examples

Madhusheel Arora

Authority figures. We all look up to them for guidance or for solutions to our worldly woes, as we go about our daily lives. Apart from political leaders and our family doctors, there is only one kind of doctor, globally, that can propound a thesis.

Once a thesis proposal passes muster through a select panel of distinguished experts and gets their approval, we have PhD doctor being gifted to the society.

A huge achievement for the individual who has earned a doctorate.

It is not at all child’s play to write a thesis. It takes time, patience, and lots of revisions before a thesis proposal can be submitted. It is essential to get your timelines right, as well as the milestones that will mark this long journey.

Meanwhile, at this stage, if you want to have a better idea of how timelines operate in a business lifecycle and how to record business history, please click here .

This blog takes you through thesis timelines templates that offer the best-in-class expertise on taking the first step towards a thesis. From Pre-Proposal Planning to the time when you publish the PhD defense date, everything needs to be marked on a timeline. Each of these thesis presentation ppt  templates are content ready, 100% customizable, and editable.

Let’s take a tour of these templates where you just need to key in your information, and you have world-class resources at hand to ace your thesis work with a specified timeline, always in sync with the required scheduling.

Template 1: A Comprehensive Guide to Thesis Defense

This 13-slide complete deck is a treasure house for PhD students. Use this to create a five-year roadmap with the first year meant for preparation of PhD Proposal, selecting an advisor. The first three years require 40-hour weeks. Between the third and the fourth year, the scholar (you) will have their proposal preparation exam. In the 4th year, you start working on the PhD Thesis preparation. The defense is scheduled in the 5th year or could stretch beyond. The DOs and DON’Ts for thesis content are simple, but valuable techniques that one could forget in the heat of the moment. Use this template to also anticipate the questions that may be asked and the importance of a back-up plan. Download now!

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Template 2: Five-Yearly Developing and Designing Guidelines for Thesis Roadmap

Use this pre-designed PPT Template to deliver the critical deliverable, steps involved, time frame and more into a five-year plan of action. You start with the problem statement and your motivation for the thesis. Then, you develop some guidelines, before researching what these mean in real-life and finally by giving closure to your problem statement. Use this presentation template as a beneficial communication tool that facilitates tasks and helps you achieve targets. Download now!

Template 3: Thesis Presentation Audience Research Analysis Structure Timeline

Writing your Thesis Defense Presentation can be unnerving, despite your age or academic experience. This 12-slide PPT Template offers you key solutions/suggestions to get this right. Getting started, how to add a bit of structure and getting adequate support to your ideas from books, all will help. Focus on the introduction and do not succumb to the temptation to rush through your thesis presentation is the best advice. Download now!

Template 4: Quarterly Thesis Subjectively Enrollment Roadmap

This PPT Template divides the longish process of earning a PhD into quarterly milestones that will help you research your subject better. After two quarters of subjective research, you may finally realign your point of view, if needed. Then, this template offers the option of finalizing your claim with the action being either of research completion or submission of thesis. Download now and pave the way for further training and events.

Template 5: Projected Research Proposal For Thesis Timeline Analysis

When working toward a PhD thesis, use this PPT Template to organize tasks like framing the thesis proposal; pre-proposal planning; proposal writing and revisions. Use this presentation template to map those tasks to a timeline in months with specific beginning and end dates as well. Download on and get on the highway to productivity in thesis timeline analysis.

Template 6: Projected Research Proposal for Thesis Timeline Analysis Presentation Model

Here, the presentation template, on the lines of the previous slide, allows you to divide your thesis into phases with the defined timelines being weeks. After reading and research, you have the option to present and interpret the topic (separate spheres). Use this template to showcase how mindful you are about time management. Download now!

Template 7: Projected Research Proposal for Thesis Timeline Analysis Elements PPT Portfolio

This PPT Template is meant to showcase how you can use a 30-60-90 Day plan to the thesis preparation stages. The categorization allows for each of these milestone periods to be divided into elements, comments, and actions. Major elements of the thesis like proposal review, preparing the research and progress report and scheduling and planning the thesis defense can get their timeline here. Get this presentation template now!

Template 8: Timeline for Thesis Research Paper Proposal

The five-year timeline thesis research proposal template is designed to offer you the freedom to punch in milestones. These are to give you an attractive backdrop. Please make sure you list these seven major components of work toward your theses in appropriate timelines. This will all come handy at the time of dissertation defense. The seven major chunks of milestones you need to place on this timeline are: Title Page; Introduction; Literature Review; Methodology; Results; Discussion and Conclusions. Make sure you get what you deserve. Download this template now.

Template 9: Quarterly Thesis Conclusion with Tutorial Workshop Roadmap

This PPT Template lists the thesis timeline into quarterly chunks, linking each with activities. From thesis initiation in a quarter, you move to submitting these to a research committee, where its composition and the members decide whether you can go ahead. Then, you get on with the PhD course work, ending with thesis submission. Attending training and events are also a major part of the research involved in this thesis timeline presentation template. Get it now!

Template 10: Six-month subject drafting and thesis completion roadmap

This PPT Template helps you excel at productive management of the thesis with its emphasis on processes. From completing your first draft on the thesis to final submission, you can use this presentation template to accelerate your move toward earning a PhD. Download now!

Knowledge meets action

It is imperative that there is some practical, everyday improvement in people’s lives with the applications of the knowledge outlined in a thesis. Even as this could take time, it is critical that you stay with your thesis timeline all the way for better long-term results. For instance, a number of theses on diversity and inclusion have proved its positive impact. If you want to conduct a comprehensive course on diversity and inclusion, SlideTeam has one for you. Click here to download our comprehensive guide to diversity and inclusion with training material included.

P.S. Another thing where time is of critical importance is your response to customer queries, experiences and service provided. Download our comprehensive training module on Customer Service, with hands-on activities and training material, with a click here .

FAQs on Thesis Timeline

What is thesis timeline.

A thesis allows you to put forward a subject or topic and back it up with a long piece of writing involving original study of the subject. A dissertation timeline is the map of how you will conduct this study over time. It is an original work, so there are a few milestones that contribute to its successful execution. Earning a thesis is, of course, an rigorous academic task, but it also requires people skills like regular meetings with your dissertation guide/advisor, preparing for dissertation defense. etc. Hence, time management is critical to earning a thesis.

Can you write a thesis in six months?

A tricky question this, especially if you are aware of the adage: ‘Work’ expands to fill the time you are given to complete it. Simply put, yes, a thesis can be written in six months, but for this to be done, the field research, accessing and reading good material, and the planning need to be there first. As you would expect, the above activities are all time-consuming. There can be no loose ends in the final dissertation thesis, hence, the writing can be done in six months. The key is to remember the saying, “It took me 20 years to become an overnight star.”

How many months does a thesis take?

For quality and originality, it is advisable that you draw up a thesis timeline and stick to it. Usually, the time to earn a thesis is more than a year. Yet, it pays to go back to first principles, when you want your thesis early or in months. The thesis is your highest academic achievement and universities around the world have varying expectations/rules on the time they grant it in. Ideally, getting that PhD degree in months is possible, but the key deliverables are the quality of research, its publication in a paper of international repute and real-life applications that the thesis spawns.

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How to Present PhD Progress Report to Doctoral Committee Members in 03 Simple Stages

As I reflect on my journey through the challenges and triumphs of presenting my PhD progress to the doctoral committee, I’m reminded of the invaluable lessons learned and the transformative experiences gained along the way.

1. Diverse Committee Composition: From the outset, the composition of the doctoral committee struck me with its diversity—comprising experts from within and outside my university, each member brought a unique perspective and wealth of knowledge to the table. Their ability to seamlessly map my research problem to their respective domains underscored the richness of their insights and the importance of their feedback in shaping the trajectory of my study.

2. Thorough Preparation: Meticulously crafting my presentation was only the first step. I realized the necessity of thorough preparation, ensuring that each slide effectively communicated my research objectives, methodology, preliminary findings, and future directions. Despite the initial nerves, I remained composed and focused, drawing upon months of dedication and hard work invested in my research.

3. Anticipating Diverse Requests: During one particularly memorable meeting, the committee members had varied requests—one member asked for a demonstration of my work, while another member wanted to delve into the intricacies of my data collection, cleaning, and wrangling process. These diverse requests underscored the importance of being prepared for any eventuality during the presentation, including the need for live demonstrations and detailed explanations of data-related processes.

4. Embracing Constructive Criticism: I welcomed the committee’s feedback with an open mind. Their constructive criticism and encouragement not only bolstered my confidence but also reignited my passion for my work. I learned to recognize the invaluable role of feedback in guiding the next steps of my research journey.

5. Displaying Previous Meeting Observations: One valuable lesson I learned along the way was the importance of displaying and addressing previous committee meeting observations in subsequent presentations. It was during my second presentation that one committee member suggested this approach, highlighting the need to showcase how suggestions were addressed and incorporated into the research progress. From that point onward, I made it a regular practice to include this information in my presentations, ensuring transparency and accountability in my research journey.

In retrospect, each PhD progress presentation was a transformative experience, shaping me into a more resilient, prepared, and adaptable researcher.

As I reflect on the journey of presenting my PhD progress, I invite you to join me in exploring the intricacies of navigating these pivotal meetings. From preparation to presentation, and from feedback to refinement, each step of the journey offers valuable insights into the art and science of doctoral progress presentations.

Introduction

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The PhD Doctoral committee is constituted by the university in which the candidate has registered for PhD. The committe is there   to support and guide the research scholar  till his final thesis is submitted. The committe involves the experts in the domain of the candidate from various universities and research labs. The Committee will evaluate your progress and help to make sure that you are on track to get your dissertation within a reasonable time.

At the beginning of your research, their focus will be on making sure you have defined reasonable and achievable objectives. Later, they will help you decide when it is time to write your thesis. Finally, they will be there at your thesis seminar and defence presentations. Their support as mentors will likely continue as you move on in your career.

Doctoral committee meeting happens usually once in 06 months. Here it is expected that the research scholar has to present his  PhD progress work of the past six months. The meeting should not be felt like an exam. The outcome should be productive advice to you for your future research.

The  Presentation of  PhD Progress Report to Doctoral Committee Members happens in three stages namely: i) Before the meeting:   i.e. Once you start preparing the report for the meeting to till the meeting begins. ii) During the meeting:  i.e. From entering into the meeting hall to  till the meeting gets over and iii) After the meeting:   i.e. From the time meeting concludes to till the next six months before you really start preparing for your next meeting report.

Before the PhD Progress Presentation Meeting

Along with your supervisor go through all the comments given in the previous PhD progress doctoral committee meeting. Discuss in detail with your supervisor the work carried out for the past six months. If any issues are still pending have justification for not addressing or partially addressing those issues.

Do not hide details regarding the implementation and pending issues with your supervisor.  This actually helps the supervisor to defend you and take inputs from the committee members regarding the future course of directions.

A summary of  PhD progress and plans should be prepared and submitted to the  Doctoral committee at least one week prior to the meeting. Make sure that you have gone through the report with all grammatical corrections and plagiarism checks.

Send out the agenda to your committee members beforehand, but also remind them of the topics you want to cover before you begin the presentation. If you have any manuscripts published or accepted send your committee a copy of the same.

You should prepare a  PhD progress presentation (no more than 20 minutes without interruption) that includes a brief background of your research, objectives and the work carried out from the last presentation to till date. Without fail discuss in detail the presentation slides with your supervisor. In your presentation slides list all the previous comments and your response for each committee in the form of a table.

If you are planning to change the title of your work getting consent from the committee members is essential. Have at least    04-05 titles which you and your supervisor feel appropriate beforehand. This will ease the process of changing the title immediately in the meeting and the committee can recommend the same to the university along with regular suggestions.

The best way to ensure that your  PhD progress meeting goes smoothly is to meet individually with each committee member to discuss your results well in advance. If you cannot meet with them in person, share your results ( refer my blog on how to write result section ) over email and ask for their feedback. If there are any disagreements, resolve them before the meeting by speaking with your supervisor to ensure that the meeting goes smoothly.

During the PhD Progress Presentation Meeting

Before the start of the PhD progress presentation give copies of the one-page summary to other faculty members who are attending the session. Submit copies of the complete report to the committee members including your supervisor. No need to present details of any published work. Provide a reprint or preprint, preferably ahead of the meeting. If your work is software based then keep the demo ready. If you do not have a working module then show the video demonstration of the model. This will help the committee members to suggest future directions for your work.

During your PhD progress committee meeting, you should focus on the last six months’ work rather than the background. Only spend as much time on the background as is relevant to what you will be talking about.

There should not be any surprise slides/facts to your supervisor during your committee meeting.

At your first PhD progress Doctoral committee meeting, you will present an outline of your plan for your research. You can build a detailed description of what you plan to do ( literature survey to carry out,  algorithms or theorems to study,  experiments to carry out, software and hardware components to add, systems integration to perform, tests to accomplish ).  The plans can be represented with specific milestones and timelines with a  Gantt Chart .

Example: The sample Gantt chart below shows a set of activities planned for the next few months for the Research work. This can be extended to any length. This chart helps the committee members to know how well the researcher has planned the research activities.

At subsequent PhD progress meetings you should present a brief introduction (one or two slides) to remind the committee of your research area – don’t expect them to recall everything from the last meeting, but no need to go into great detail. Aim to put your work in context.

Show your current working objective in the form of a block diagram. This will set the boundary for the presentation and discussion. This will help the committee members to focus on the specified objective. For example in the figure below the candidate is focusing on the “Wheeled mobile Robot” objective in Robot Path Planning.

Make sure you are comfortable moving back and forth among your slides.  Do not cross the time limit. Add photographs of any field visits for data collection , or conference presentations in your presentation slides. If you had any interactions with domain experts in your area then add interaction details with a date. If you have visited any organization as a resource person relating to your Ph.D. work with your supervisor then add that details.

Seek advice from your committee members during the meeting. Note down all the suggestions by yourself or ask one of your research colleagues to note the same.  This is highly desirable, almost to the point that you should make it mandatory. Give a timeline of your plans. What will you be doing over the next month, and what do you hope to accomplish before your next meeting in the next six months’ time.

Keep additional slides along with your regular slides. Get into additional slides detail if any clarifications are sought on any equations or algorithms etc.

Additional slides can be presented as follows:

i) The equipment details you are planning to purchase or currently using for implementation.

ii) The Algorithms which you have implemented or planning to implement.

iii) The mathematical model you have developed,  or

iv) Any slides that you think are important but do not have time to cover at the end of your presentation.

Here are some tips regarding the presentation, including time management, devices, backup, laptop usage, uploading PowerPoint, video, and audio:

• Practice your presentation beforehand to ensure it fits within the allocated time.
• Use a timer or stopwatch during practice sessions to gauge your pace.
• Be mindful of the time during the actual presentation and make necessary adjustments to stay on track.
• Ensure your laptop or presentation device is in good working condition.
• Carry a backup copy of your presentation on a USB drive or cloud storage.
• Test the compatibility of your presentation files with the equipment at the presentation venue in advance.
• Close any unnecessary applications or notifications on your laptop to avoid distractions.
• Disable sleep mode or screensavers to prevent interruptions during the presentation.
• Familiarize yourself with the laptop’s function keys or shortcuts for adjusting display settings, volume, etc.
• Save your PowerPoint presentation in a compatible format (e.g., PPT or PPTX).
• Verify that all embedded media (images, videos, audio) are properly linked and functional.
• If possible, upload your presentation to the venue’s computer system before the session to avoid last-minute technical issues.
• Check the audio and video components of your presentation beforehand to ensure they work properly.
• If you plan to play a video, ensure it is in a compatible format and smoothly integrated into your presentation.
• Test the sound levels to ensure audibility for everyone in the room.

Additional tips (from personal experience):

• Rehearse your presentation multiple times to build confidence and familiarity with the material.
• Prepare cue cards or key points to refer to if needed, but avoid excessive reliance on them.
• Maintain eye contact with the audience to engage them and convey confidence.
• Speak clearly and project your voice to ensure everyone can hear you.
• Use visual aids and diagrams to enhance understanding and clarify complex concepts.
• Incorporate storytelling or real-life examples to make your presentation more engaging.
• Practice smooth transitions between slides and maintain a logical flow throughout.
• Be prepared to answer questions and engage in discussions following your presentation.

Remember, the more prepared and confident you are, the better you can deliver your presentation effectively.

After the PhD Progress Presentation Meeting

End your  PhD progress committee meeting with a summary of what you have discussed, common points that you have reached and an action plan for the next six months. Your action plan needs to have “actionable” items, specifically what milestones you will work towards after the meeting and approximate timelines.

A written summary of the  PhD progress committee meeting will be prepared by the supervisor and the committee, and that will be sent to the University. You will receive a copy of this and a copy will be placed in your research file.

Send an email note to each of your committee members through your supervisor to thank them for their time, and summarize the action items or milestones you agreed to. This will give your committee members another chance to give you feedback or suggestions.

During the meeting, you might have accepted to complete some implementation before the next meeting, but you may run out of time or you may not get any ideas regarding implementation. In such situations, have a discussion with your supervisor and the committee members and discuss the challenges faced by you. They may either extend the implementation time or ask you to change the methodology of implementation.

Simply do not wait for suggestions from committee members till the next PhD progress presentation meeting. In order to build trust between you and your committee members, you need to take committee members and your supervisor into confidence before taking any major decisions.

In the meeting, the committee might have suggested publishing your work in a quality conference or journal for better citations. Selecting a reputable journal and avoiding predatory conferences and journals is crucial for maximizing the visibility and impact of your research article.

By publishing in a respected journal, you increase the likelihood of attracting a broader and more qualified readership, thus increasing the chances of your article being cited by other researchers. Choosing the right journal involves considering factors such as the journal’s scope, target audience, impact factor, indexing in reputable databases, peer-review process, and overall reputation in the field.

Additionally, it is important to stay vigilant and avoid predatory conferences and journals that may engage in unethical practices or lack rigorous peer-review processes. These predatory outlets may hinder the credibility and recognition of your work. By carefully selecting a reputable journal, you position your research for greater exposure, credibility, and citation potential.

Visit my articles on ” How to identify and avoid predatory conferences and journals ” and “ Identifying Reputable journals for your research paper “. These articles will help you in getting your articles cited by many authors.

Here is an email template which you can communicate to your doctoral committee members in case you fail to keep the deadline or are unable to work on the ideas you proposed. Please take consent from your supervisor before sending any communication to Doctoral Committee members.

Improving both oral presentation and visual presentation skills is crucial for effective communication. To enhance your oral presentation skills, focus on aspects such as clarity, organization, and delivery. Practice speaking clearly, using appropriate tone and volume, and engaging with your audience. Additionally, consider refining your body language, utilizing effective gestures, and maintaining eye contact. For further guidance and resources on honing your oral presentation skills, you may explore reputable platforms and online courses available in this domain.

When it comes to visual presentation skills, it is essential to create visually appealing and impactful slides or visuals. Pay attention to design elements, such as color schemes, fonts, and layout, to ensure coherence and readability. Utilize visuals, such as graphs, charts, and images, to convey information effectively. Incorporate appropriate animations or transitions to enhance the flow and engagement of your presentation. To access valuable tips, techniques, and tools for enhancing your visual presentation skills, you can explore recommended platforms and tutorials available online.

If you are interested in further developing your oral presentation skills, I recommend checking out this comprehensive course on oral presentation skills . It covers essential techniques, strategies, and practical exercises to help you deliver impactful presentations confidently. Likewise, if you want to enhance your visual presentation skills, you may find this resource on v isual presentation design highly beneficial. It provides valuable insights, best practices, and examples to create visually stunning and effective presentations. Feel free to explore these resources to elevate your presentation skills and captivate your audience.

Presenting your PhD progress report to the doctoral committee can be a daunting task, but it is an essential part of your PhD journey. The committee is there to provide guidance and support, ensuring that you are on track to complete your dissertation within a reasonable time. It is crucial to approach the committee meeting with a positive attitude and view it as an opportunity to receive productive advice for your future research.

Remember that the presentation of the progress report to the committee happens in three stages: before, during, and after the meeting. The preparation of the report should be meticulous and thoughtful, and during the meeting, you should be open to constructive feedback and suggestions. After the meeting, you should take note of the committee’s recommendations and use them to shape your future research endeavours.

As you move forward in your career, the support and guidance of the doctoral committee will likely continue to be a valuable resource. By effectively presenting your progress report to the committee, you can make the most of this opportunity and receive the guidance you need to succeed in your PhD program.

Frequently Asked Questions

Research Objective: Clearly state the objective of your research and the problem you are addressing. Methodology: Provide a brief description of the methodology or approach you are using to conduct your research. Key Findings: Highlight the major findings or results you have obtained so far in your research. Progress Update: Summarize the progress you have made during the past six months, highlighting significant achievements or milestones reached. Challenges: Briefly mention any challenges or obstacles you have encountered in your research and how you are addressing them. Future Plans: Outline your planned next steps and future goals for your research, including anticipated timelines or milestones. Relevance and Impact: Discuss the relevance and potential impact of your research in your field or discipline. Support Needed: Specify any specific support, resources, or expertise you require to further advance your research.

To effectively demonstrate a software-based project during the presentation: Have the demo prepared and functional Show a video demonstration if the software is not available or requires specific conditions Focus on showcasing key features and functionalities Provide context and explain the purpose of the software

Include only the necessary level of detail in the background section of your presentation, focusing on what is directly relevant to your research and the specific objectives you will be discussing. Keep it concise and provide enough context to help the doctoral committee members to understand the significance and motivation of your work without delving into unnecessary details.

Maintain open and regular communication with your supervisor throughout the research process. Share progress updates, challenges, and findings with your supervisor in a timely manner. Discuss any potential issues or deviations from the original plan as soon as they arise. Seek feedback and guidance from your supervisor at various stages of your research. Keep your supervisor informed about any changes in methodology, data, or results. Address any concerns or questions from your supervisor before the committee meeting to align expectations.

The types of questions you can expect from committee members regarding your research plan may include: Clarification questions seeking a deeper understanding of your research objectives, methodology, or proposed experiments. Questions about the theoretical framework or literature review supporting your research. Inquiries about the feasibility and potential limitations of your proposed research. Questions related to the significance and impact of your research in the field. Suggestions for alternative approaches or methodologies to consider. Questions about the expected timeline and milestones for your research. Inquiries about potential ethical considerations or data management strategies. Questions exploring the potential implications and practical applications of your research. Requests for additional details or explanations on specific aspects of your research plan. Questions about the expected contributions of your research to the existing body of knowledge in your field.

When responding to suggestions and feedback given by the committee members during the meeting: Listen actively and attentively to understand the suggestions and feedback. Thank the committee members for their input and valuable insights. Remain open-minded and receptive to different perspectives and ideas. Clarify any points of confusion or seek further clarification, if needed. Acknowledge the validity of the suggestions and show a willingness to consider them. Provide thoughtful responses that demonstrate your understanding of the suggestions. Clearly articulate your rationale if you choose not to implement a specific suggestion. Engage in constructive discussions and ask follow-up questions, if appropriate. Demonstrate your ability to integrate feedback into your research plan or adjust your approach. Express gratitude for the committee members’ support and guidance throughout the process.

Lack of Clear Objectives: If your progress presentation fails to clearly define and articulate the objectives of your research, it may be rejected. The committee expects a clear understanding of what you aim to achieve and the significance of your research goals. Inadequate Progress: Insufficient progress made during the specified period can lead to rejection. The committee expects tangible advancements in your research within the given timeframe. If there is a lack of substantial work or limited progress, they may question the feasibility or dedication to your research. Methodological Issues: If there are flaws in your research methodology or data collection techniques, the committee may reject your progress presentation. It is essential to demonstrate a robust and well-designed research approach that aligns with the requirements of your field. Poor Presentation Skills: Your presentation skills play a crucial role in conveying your research effectively. If your presentation lacks clarity, coherence, or fails to engage the audience, it may lead to rejection. Effective communication and the ability to present complex ideas in a concise and understandable manner are vital. Inadequate Literature Review: A comprehensive literature review is expected in a progress presentation. If your review of existing literature is incomplete, lacks depth, or fails to address relevant studies, your presentation may be rejected. It is essential to showcase a thorough understanding of the existing research and its relationship to your work. Failure to Address Committee Feedback: If you neglect to incorporate previous feedback and suggestions from the committee, it may result in rejection. The committee expects you to demonstrate the ability to reflect on and address their recommendations, showing your commitment to improving your research. Remember, the specific parameters for rejection may vary depending on your academic institution and the expectations set by your doctoral committee. It is crucial to consult your supervisor and committee members for clear guidelines and expectations for your progress presentation.

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Basic Customizable PhD Dissertation

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Being formal and creative can be your main highlights when presenting your phD if you use this modern presentation template for your defense. The design is like a canvas you can use to give life to your investigation and your results because it’s completely editable. Adapt the slides to the requirements of your research and your speech and let the elegance of its design surprise the committee and get you the best mark!

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ASGCT 2024: Interview with Frédéric Revah, CEO of Généthon

By Corinna Singleman, PhD

Credit: Généthon

A noticeable trend at last week’s American Society for Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) conference was one of retrospection in the face of progress. In many cases, speakers expressed the need to reflect on the history of their field and the progress made over the past few decades to aid in decision-making for future endeavors.

Revah sat down with GEN’s managing editor, Corinna Singleman, PhD, to discuss the past, present, and future of Généthon and particularly its pioneering research in muscular dystrophy.

Généthon was created and funded by the French Muscular Dystrophy Association, AFM-Telethon in 1990. AFM-Telethon arose from the grass-roots efforts of nine families advocating for study into Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and hosting telethon events beginning in the 1950s. They began a national phenomenon in France to raise awareness and funding for muscular dystrophy research, which has expanded to study other rare genetic disorders.

Généthon was created with a primary focus on research in gene therapy. Initially, this work concentrated on better understanding the human genome as a whole, as researchers around the world were working on the Human Genome Project. With the successful sequencing of the human genome, Généthon’s goals refocused on gene therapies, culminating in its first gene therapy trial for severe combined immune deficiencies (SCID).

“Généthon progressively constructed the competencies, the know-how in designing those drugs, testing them, manufacturing them. We were involved in manufacturing as early as 2008… The idea is that, if we didn’t have manufacturing tools, we would go nowhere.”

Through strategic partnerships and collaborations, Généthon has continued to grow in its research abilities as it develops therapies, bringing many treatments to clinical trials.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Singleman: How would you describe your contribution since you joined Généthon as CEO? Have you changed or modified the direction of where the company was going to where it is now?

Revah: I came in 2010 at a moment when there was no clinical trial ongoing, with the mandate to transform what was a very efficient research institute into some kind of not-for-profit biotech. And now, 14 years later, we have this pipeline and industrial partnerships. I had an initial academic background then moved to the pharma industry. And it’s really with that training, bringing my pharma expertise to the association, ready to have this shift from an R&D institute to a more biotech type of operation. That’s where we are today, trying to secure industrial financing and move progressively from discovering drugs, to using those drugs in the clinic, and possibly moving to the next step of taking some of those drugs to the market ourselves. This is a challenge and an endeavor because the number of resources that is needed is very high to achieve this transition in an environment that is not very easy for rare genetic diseases.

Gene therapy for rare diseases was not of interest for investors or for pharma. Things changed with the first initial “Wow!” results that were so impressive. Then pharma got interested and then realized that for rare genetic diseases, by definition, the market for the business model based on recouping the investment on one single injection for a small population was a challenge.

It does worry me. We’re seeing in the pharma industry, some of the players stepping back from their investment in rare disease. See what happened with Pfizer. And we see pharma company, biotech investors in particular, in this moment where access to capital is difficult, are still interested in gene therapy but for larger markets. Our challenge in the coming years will be to try to find the right balance to move those drugs forward, but under strained financial conditions.

Singleman: In some of the talks at ASGCT, there has been discussion about rare diseases through the lens of how to apply those therapies to more common diseases, like heart disease which is one of the top killers. What are your thoughts on that?

Revah: You should not neglect the fact that rare diseases are a public health issue. There are thousands of these diseases. Three hundred million people around the world are affected by them and there’s many of those individually that could benefit from gene therapy. Whatever we do for rare diseases also benefits frequent disorders and working on rare diseases allows us to develop technologies, develop approaches, develop science, and it’s really a springboard for more common diseases.

There are only a few kids per year in Europe, probably a similar number of kids in the United States, with DMD. The work to study and treat this disease is now applied to cancer with CAR T cells because CAR T cells are really the extension of the same type of technology, and now we can think about heart disease and diabetes. The research into rare diseases really feeds research for widespread diseases and rare disease research should not neglected.

There is a systemic question then about how do we finance development for these rare genetic diseases? The Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium (BGTC) is an organization launched by the FDA and National Institutes of Health (NIH), trying to finance developments for some genetic diseases with no commercial models. Their symposium exemplified how the fight of parents has been important. But this is not sufficient. We have to find a systemic way in addressing the financing and it’s not only regulatory. Peter Marks (FDA) said that we have to be pragmatic and we have to adjust the regulatory hurdles throughout the season. That’s good but it doesn’t solve the cash problem.

Généthon is one of the pioneers in gene therapy. We’re probably one of the oldest organizations in the room working on gene therapy. It started in the ‘90s at a time when nobody was, and we were still one of the leaders in the sense of the breadth of our portfolio. We work not only on therapies, but on some technologies. We are convinced that bringing down the cost of production is key.

Singleman: How are you doing that?

Revah: We have a group of 40 people working on that, in close conjunction with the production side. We were pioneers, for instance, in suspension methods; we have been using cell suspension methods at a time when everybody was using a different method. The scaling up becomes much easier when the cells are in suspension. We’re trying to find new production systems, new production cells. We are also trying to improve the transfection step, which is very important. We’re trying to improve downstream methods and purification methods.

I would say incremental improvement of the process, but also trying to bring some breakthrough approaches in the way plasmids are designed and moving to plants for instance, which is something that we’re testing. It could be a breakthrough approach and the objective here is really to decrease the cost of production. Some of these productions could be as expensive, from a few hundred thousand [Euros] per dose. I’m just talking about cost of production, cost of goods, bringing that cost down is also an important element in making development affordable.

Singleman: If we’re going to have these treatments, there needs to be some equity in distribution. Is all this manufacturing bioprocessing work being done in-house or do you also work with corporate partners?

Revah: We strongly believe that improving bioprocessing is really a transdisciplinary approach because you have to understand how these viruses assemble in cells. We ask questions: What’s the transfection? How are these bioreactors working? It’s really a mix of virology, cell biology, instrumentation sensors, and more, because in order to understand what happens in vivo, you have to develop sensors and we use artificial intelligence to assess the data that comes out and try to improve. So basically, we’re not doing all that by ourselves, trying to create networks. We’re working with AI specialists, in virology and cell biology. We’re working with solution providers, getting people in other fields interested in the gene therapy arena. We believe that there’s technology out there that we should at least test. So yes, we’re not doing it on our own.

Singleman: Is there anything exciting or interesting coming up with either partnerships or any new trajectories in your research or processing that you are looking forward to?

Revah: We’re working on producing AAV in plants, also very systematic genetic engineering of production cells in order to be able to identify those genes that might modify and improve productivity. That’s something that we’re doing in a very systematic way. We’ve been working on AI with a very large conglomerate and the defense industry in France. The idea is really to create a numerical twin of our bioreactors. For the time being, we’re trying to segment the process and we have been concentrating on the downstream process. We’d like to be able to predict from the chromatography profile of our products, some very key parameters that we would not have to test in the analytical lab. We’re progressing on that in order to reduce the time and the cost of production.

Singleman: You said you have a lot of stepwise processes that you’re being very precise about. Have there been any pitfalls or areas that are very clearly not working and that need improvement?

Revah: I think the whole industry is facing the same questions. There is a ratio of full to empty to consider. This includes a capsid with the exact genome that we want to put it in, there are the capsids that are exactly the way we want them. But there are capsids that are empty, or capsids that are partially full. This has been a challenge for the whole industry trying to improve this ratio. After all, we’re forcing cells to assemble a virus with DNA, which is not the DNA that is supposed to be there. So how does this happen? And it takes us into both basic virology, and also design of the bioreactors. Without going into detail, we think we have interesting solutions there.

Singleman: You mentioned Pfizer earlier. Do you have any thoughts or comments about the situation with Pfizer’s DAYLIGHT project and the death of the young patient in the project? Généthon has its own clinical trial coming up. Will this sad news impact the trial?

Revah: Of course, we’re following this very closely. We shared information on some of our respective side effects with Sarepta, Pfizer, and Solid Biosciences. We presented what we encountered and the solution we came up with, which was different from the side effect that we’ve seen this week, which is cardiac.

It is another type of side effect that appears almost a year after treatment and so of course, there are some elements that we’re thinking about, having studied the disease for more than 20 years. We will definitely take that into account in our thinking and the way we treat patients.

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