Paper Presentation Guide

APOGEE Paper Presentation is one of the most anticipated events of APOGEE and one that strengthens its identity as a technical fest. In an interview with the APOGEE English Press, Dr. Rajdeep Chowdhury of the Bio-Sciences shared his views on how to present effectively. Having been a judge for the event for the last few years, the professor made insightful observations about important areas that students do not usually pay much attention to while presenting.
Dr. Chowdhury’s first advice to students is to exercise prudence while choosing ideas to pursue. He suggested that students take up feasible ideas, especially for APOGEE. Students often tend to invest time in projects which do not materialize in the limited time frame, because of their sheer vastness and complexity. The campus being in a remote location, it is often difficult to procure equipment, chemicals, or hardware for experiments and projects. He also discouraged students from attempting to write review papers, as it requires vast knowledge of the concerned area. ‘Writing a paper is like selling a product. You need to identify the lacunae – a gap or cavity – in the existing works and stress on the novelty in your research. The paper should elaborate on the problem you found, the solution you have come up with and how it ties with existing literature’, Dr. Chowdhury said.
He added that, given the number of students on campus, the number of entries for the paper presentation is shamefully low. There has not been a substantial increase over the years. ‘The event should not be seen as a CV-boosting stunt, but as a platform to present new ideas’, he said. ‘Students should put more thought and time into such opportunities.’
Dr. Chowdhury said that many students are unable to communicate their ideas while presenting their work due to lack of homework of their part. Strong content and ability to communicate well are essential to make a presentation successful.
He felt that more student participation in such events can boost the academic culture on campus. ‘From the faculty’s point of view, novel ideas from students always fascinate us and interesting presentations stay with us for a long time. We wish to see more of it in the coming years’. Praising the efforts put in by the APOGEE team in improving the events this time, Dr. Chowdhury hopes that this leads to more interest in the future editions of APOGEE.