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Extracurricular Student Presentations

Short description

The purpose of the activity is to give the students the opportunity to present their assignments and get recognition for their work. In addition, students get the opportunity to draw inspiration from each other for their own work.

Motivation for the activity 

Most student papers are based on many hours of work that don't get further than to the examinator. The extracurricular student presentations give the students the opportunity to share their papers and projects with their fellow students.

Description of the activity

The student presentations are held every other or every third Friday in a month. The format is an informal setting where students can present different topics to each other and to their lecturers.

The presentations are arranged by a group of volunteer students in collaboration with the lecturer. The lecturer books a room and the students bring coffee and cake. 

The activity takes approx. 2 hours with 3 presentations of 20-25 minutes, the rest of the time is for questions, discussion and coffee breaks. 

The lecturers of the department keep an eye on student projects in connection with the exam, and search out those of particular interest and originality and pass on the names to the student organisers who then invite their fellow students to present their work. 

Besides presenting papers this activity can also be used to present other topics of interest to the students, e.g:

  • Exam writing in groups
  • Data collection and fieldwork
  • Peer-feedback on ideas for papers
  • Working as a student assistant on research projects
  • Experience with exchange or attending conferences abroad
  • Workprocesses while writing BA-projects or master's theses
  • Experience with internship or profil courses in the MA-programme.

Outcome of the activity

  • The students get the opportunity of presenting their papers and get recognition for the work that has been put into them
  • The students find out what is happening in other year-groups than their own and learn about new and inspiring topics in different academic fields
  • The younger students get an insight into what lies ahead in their education programme
  • The presenting students practice their oral presentation skills
  • Lecturers and student counsellors benefit from the students learning from each other and drawing on each other's experience
  • The cohesion between study levels and the affilliation with both the department and academic field is strenghtened.  

Reflections on the activity 

The activity isn't obligatory and takes place outside of the general teaching. To create an environment where the students support the activity by participating you can:

  • Bring coffee and cake and make the setting informal
  • Invite the lecturers and let them participate as a way of validating the activity
  • Ask the students what topics they are interested in 
  • Invite both BA and MA student presenters because students are more likely to support their friends and fellow students
  • Plan presentations that are relevant for the students right now, e.g. BA-project presentations 
  • Plan diverse events such as exam paper presentations, speeddating on ideas for papers, postersessions, datasessions and so on.

Activities

    Examples of Practice


      Basic information

      • Faculty: Arts
      • Degree Programme: Linguistics
      • Study level: All
      • Course size: 20-50
      • Extent: Activity
      • Primary type of activity: Acquisition, Discussion
      • How the case was conduted: Campus teaching 

      Learning objectives

      The purpose of the activity is to give the students the opportunity to present their assignments and get recognition for their work. In addition, students get the opportunity to draw inspiration from each other for their own work.

      Links and materials

      Pictures from student presentations

      Click to see larger picture.