Hi all

I am 5 months in to my PHD and wondered if you can help. I would like to submit an abstract 250 words for a call for papers in my local university. It should be based on the research conducted but I'm wondering if the 15 minutes should concentrate on what my assignment is,why etc or can I be more general explaining my research but be more creative with regards to the topic. There are Q&A afterwards.

Has anyone has experience of doing one of these? I feel quite scared! How did it go and how did you structure it? TiA

As you are only 5 months in, you can submit an abstract that focuses just on the background to your project and the objectives of your PhD or a broader aspect of the research. Either approach is absolutely fine for a university conference.

Thank you!

Well done for being so enthusiastic! Yes you can sort of design the time to suit you. Academics at these conferences are always happy to help ECRs and so even if you present your tentative research questions they will soon tell you (nicely) if they can think of a better one or if you might need to rethink something. Good luck!