Orchestrating a Highly Interactive Virtual Student Research Symposium

The New Haven Local Section of the American Chemical Society held a virtual version of its annual Student Research Symposium prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A combination of YouTube, Google Drive, Open Broadcaster Software, and Zoom was utilized to hold the symposium which included juried oral and poster presentations. While our aim was to preserve as much of the in-person experience as possible despite the crisis, we found some very encouraging advantages to the virtual format as we designed it. These included reduced presenter fatigue, more substantive one-on-one interactions between student and senior researchers, expanded accessibility for students, faculty, and the general public, and the virtual symposium being a fraction of the cost of an in-person symposium. The details of this experience and advice for its application in the wider educational community are reported.