Poster and Presentation

Do you want to go the extra mile? Start forming your team now for the October 11th deadline to compete
in the voluntary Civic Leader Challenge Case poster competition!

SUBMISSIONS NOW CLOSED.

STEP 1: Form your team

STEP 2: Notify us of your intent to compete and the names of your team members (2-4 participants per team, from one school or multiple)

STEP 3: We will confirm your participation and notify you of the deadline for submitting an executive summary.

STEP 4: Register for the conference (separate registrations required for each competitor)

STEP 5: Submit your executive summary by the specified deadline (email notification only)

STEP 6: Create and bring your poster and a digital copy to the conference, be ready to present your topic research. 

STEP 7: Attend, present, compete!

Why Compete?

The student case competition provides participating teams the opportunity to ...

• Develop a real-world case and learn about the systemic leadership complexities associated with a selected social problem.
• Comprehensively and collectively develop and articulate a deep understanding and proposed leadership solution to a problem you believe poses a significant societal challenge.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the complexity of leadership as it relates to contemporary, social problems.
• Work together as a team to articulate a grasp of how leadership theories and practice can be applied to impact local, national, and/or international social problem.
• Engage in dialogue and receive feedback to strengthen analytical and presentation skills
• Compete with other like-minded students.

The Competition

1. Each team of 2-4 students will select a significant contemporary social problem related to the conference theme, Civic Leadership, they would like to address from among one of these seven (7) areas:
   
   • Election Integrity, Media integrity / Responsibility, Free Speech, Gender Equality, Racial Equality, Immigration Law, or Public Service Duty
2. The team will conduct research to gain an understanding of how to frame the problem and its causes, systemic causes (i.e., economic, political, social, cultural, and individual factors).
3. The team will analyze and develop recommendations that they believe will mitigate or solve the problem, with attention to a leadership theory or theories and actions that can be applied.
4. The case study and plan of action should be realistic and practical -- and suggested actions should not create other unintended problems that could be worse than the original problem.
5. The Case Competition consists of an executive summary and a poster presentation at the conference. Some due dates are listed below. We will communicate the others as necessary via email directly to participating teams.
6. Cash prizes are $1,000 for 1st place, $500 for 2nd place, and $250 for third place.

Competition Rules

Team Competition: Team consisting of 2-4 students, high school through undergraduate ages. Teams can represent their school or representatives from several schools may form a team.

Team Sign-Up: Each team must notify us of their intent to participate by noon on Mon., October 11, 2021. Complete this form for your team sign-up!

Conference Registration: All team members must register and attend the conference.

Case Preparation: In preparing for their submissions, teams my explore any public information source that would be accessible by any scholar, student, or professional consulting group. Teams may consult books or articles, search libraries, and use the internet, etc.

Assistance: Teams may be advised by faculty, coaches, or other individuals prior to the competition; however, advisers, coaches, or other individuals may not contribute to any of the team's products. Teams are free to receive verbal feedback on initial drafts and practice presentations.

Executive Summary: Teams will prepare and submit an Executive Summary of no more than two single-spaced pages (excluding references). The Executive summary must be submitted electronically to Ms. MayAnn Doan (doanmh@vmi.edu) by the noon on Wed., October 20 deadline. Submissions after that date will not be entered into the competition.

Poster Presentation: Teams will create a poster to support your oral presentation. Posters will be on display throughout the conference. Easels will be provided. You will also need to submit a digital copy of that same poster so that we may show your poster on a large screen for our audience should your team be selected as one of the finalists. Edits may be made to the digital poster as needed up until judging.

Guideline for Content

Executive Summary

An Executive Summary is a concise and impactful summary of the social problem or challenge being addressed. It highlights the specific framing of the problem, briefly summarizes the major points to be covered in reference to the problem, including the history and causes of the identified problem and outlines the recommendations that will be offered to address the problem. We ask that the theme of the conference, Evolving Civic Leadership: Citizenship and Social Responsibility, be integrated into this portion of the case study. Although it is an abbreviated representation of the case/project to be presented, a judge should be able to acquire the information needed from the Executive Summary to adequately prepare for the Video Presentation. Based on the Executive Summary, judges should have a fundamental understanding of the problem being addressed, the reasons it exists, and the actions being recommended to help mitigate it.

After your team notifies us of your intent to participate [deadline: noon on October 11, 2021], a member of our team will communicate with you via email on any next steps and other important notifications. 

Poster Presentation

Posters will summarize the points of your presentation. Be ready to share your research during the conference. Each group will set up their poster the morning of the first day during the registration/breakfast period. Judging will take place during concurrent sessions as noted in the program schedule. Finalists will present to the entire audience with a digital copy of their poster showing on the screen.